Studs & Stallions

ANNUAL 2017 • VOLUME 43 $15 . 0 0 N Z $17.95 [ I N C

GS T]

BR EMERVALE AR ABIANS Breeding Champions in every discipline

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ome of the most beautiful moments in history start with a dream, but only when there is courage to turn that dream into reality can history be created.

And when history is created, a journey of pure magic begins. The year was 1962 when Jill Toft embarked on a mission to bring her childhood fantasy into reality.

Bremervale has the belief that every horse has a purpose, whether that be for endurance, in the show ring, for kids pony club or breeding. The outstanding results of the Bremervale Arabian also stand as testimony to this belief. In recent times we have had countless Australian National Champions and multiple Champions around the world, in hand and under saddle, and multi-medal wins with gold, silver and bronze at the FEI World Endurance Championships.

Now, over 50 years later, Bremervale has consistently been breeding with a passion and vision for the Arabian horse.

Bremervale has become and continues to be one of the leading Arabian breeding farms in the world.

You also have the opportunity to be a part of the Bremervale family.

We invite you to come on this journey as we continue to define history.

If you are looking for a companion, a friend who will be your partner in an adventure of a lifetime, then the Bremervale Arabian is for you.

“ B i r t h p l a c e

o f

C h

a m p i o n s ”

e s t

1 9 6 2

BR EMERVALE ST BREMERVALE BEY EXECUTIVE

Desperado x Bremervale Poeme

WN MAJESTIC SUMAR A (IMP USA)

Monogramm x WN Samsara

BREMERVALE ULTIMATE Desperado x Bremervale Bey Heart

ALLIONS AT STUD BREMERVALE CHIEF JUSTICE

Rave VF x Bremervale Scarlett

CHIPPENDALE V (IMP USA)

Audacious PS x SC Crystal Pistol

BREMERVALE EL CAPITAN Opus Comet JP x Bremervale Juanita

BREMERVALE AR ABIANS

Warwick & Jill Toft “Oxford” 81 E. Summerville Rd, Fernvale QLD 4306 For information on our stallions and sale horses contact: Warwick Toft 0400 546 407 or (07) 5464 3704 or David 0412 629 930 or Georgia Toft 0404 607 634 Email: bremervale@bigpond.com

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Photo: Samantha Taylor

Pshalomar WH JUSTICE (US) SHANGHAI EA (ES) SALYMAH (ES)

Pshalomar (US) PSYMADRE (US) MC PSYNAMMON (US) ABHA INSOLITA (US)

MAGNUM PSYCHE (US) VONA SHER-RENEA (US) KHIDAR (BE) LIBANON AZADIKA (NL) PADRONS PSYCHE (US) TOMORROWS DREAM (US) ABHA NEJEB (ES) ABHA QUISA (ES)

Hideaway Farm Arabians

Phil Wild and Phill Ryan hideawayfarm@bigpond.com Tel: +61 3 6496 1213 Mobile: +61 0409 719 247

From the

EDITOR… W

ith equal parts nerves, excitement, pride and relief, I welcome you to the 2017 edition of Arabian Studs & Stallions.

PC: Elsa Marchenay

I have been reading this magazine for as long as I can remember, and it was with a deep respect for both editors past, and the magazine itself, that I decided to undertake this challenge. From the comfort of wherever you are reading this, I hope these pages will transport you to the finest Arabian horses that Australia, and indeed the world, has to offer. From high profile show stallions, to long-standing breeding farms, endurance and racing initiatives and even an all-Arabian horse trekking business, the articles within this edition showcase both the unique and varied capabilities of the Arabian horse, and the equally unique, and sometime vastly different interests and viewpoints of the people involved with them.

Together, we are all a part of the Arabian horse community.

The process of editing this magazine has been filled with wonderful experiences, from interviewing people I have long admired, being introduced to new breeders or enthusiasts I had not spoken to before, discovering new facets and the

I have come to understand that not only is the Arabian horse the ultimate all-rounder, its aficionados are quite the same…we are all so different, yet at our core we are very similar

passions of those I thought I knew already to spending hours pouring over photographs of the most inspiring, beautiful and important Arabian horses to have walked the Earth…for this last reason alone, the experience was more than worthwhile.

Yet it is the connections with people, old friends and new, that have been the greatest pleasure of putting this magazine together. The interview subjects, the writers, photographers,

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designers, advertisers, copy editors and most importantly, those who held my hand along the way…all of us share a common interest which brings us together – the Arabian horse.

Whether we like halter, endurance, Polish, Egyptian, Russian, Crabbet, panda eyes, unclipped faces, point score systems, bridle paths, high percentage or low percentage derivatives… it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, what we can all agree on is that we like, in fact we love, the Arabian horse.

With ever more clarity I have come to understand that not only is the Arabian horse the ultimate all-rounder, its aficionados are quite the same…we are all so different, yet at our core we are very similar.

There is so much for all of us to enjoy about the Arabian, so much pleasure to be had, in the many ways the Arabian can provide.

Finally, I would like to dedicate this edition of Arabian Studs & Stallions to a woman I greatly admire, and who will be missed the world over…the enigmatic Gloria Lanigan. While I did not know Gloria for very long, the stories she would tell and the many conversations we had as we took the highway up the coast and back will be forever etched in my mind. Kind hearted, bold, unashamedly flirtatious…

Gloria was one in a million, a true and unique character such as we may never see again. She taught me so much…thank you Gloria.

David Gillett

ALEXANDRINA FARM w w w.a le x a nd r i n a f a r m.com.au

SADIKS PSYCHE Padrons Psyche x Serdika (Simeon Sadik) Australian National Champion Arabian Stallion in halter Multi Australian National Champion Arabian under saddle AVAILABLE AT STUD – CA, SCID, LFS clear!

Enquiries welcome, contact: Melanie Welsh ph: 0427 799 388 alexandrinafarm@bigpond.com Photo: Nicole Emanuel

CONTENTS From the Editor An Interview with Doyle Dertell Foxridge Farm Ghazaal M Quartz Hill Farm Gleniph Arabians Mulawa Arabian Stud Sabtah Nassor Capturing the Spirit Saharri Park Arabians Go West…Life is full of Arabians there! Western Australian Arabian Breeders An Interview with Scott Trees 60 Years of Simeon Al Atiq Arabians An Interview with Dr. Nasr Marei Southern Cross Horse Treks Leading Sires of Purebred Halter Champions Ride Race Live! Al Jeda Arabians Duo Park Stud Cast a Spell and CHARMED We Are A roughage-only diet: Smart decision or a recipe for disaster?

Sheridan Park and Arabian Ponies Khalid Arabians The Legacy of Nazeer Daughters in Australia and New Zealand Tchaata Arabians Leading Sires of Derivative Halter Champions Sierra Lodge Coloured Arabians Is Stallion Ownership For You? Chelleason Arabians International Arabian Racing in Australia: NARA’s Role Advertisers Index

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4 12 33 38 40 46 74 88 90 100 104 110 126 138 142 148 152 158 162 166 168 172 176 178 183 186 191 194 198 200 202

ANNUAL 2017 • VOLUME 43 Dedication: This issue of Arabian Studs & Stallions is dedicated to the memory of its founders, Judith and Herman Vink.

MICHAEL VINK, Publisher P: (07) 3334 8000 (michael@interactivink.com.au)

DAVID GILLETT, Editor (David@redmgmt.com.au)

Production Team

CHANTELLE KING, WEI DENG, RICHARD LOCKE, AMY CHRISTENSEN & KAREN BELIK Cover photo: Artistry MI (Magnum Forty Four (US) x M Angelique) – ridden by Katharine Farrell and owned by Mulawa Arabian Stud Stuart Vesty, Photographer

ARABIAN STUDS & STALLIONS: PO Box 8369, Woolloongabba Queensland 4102 Australia Phone: (07) 3334 8000 Fax: (07) 3391 5118 The advertising content is the responsibility of the advertisers.

The price of $15.00 is a recommended price only. No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without the written consent of the publishers. Whilst every care is taken in the publication and preparation of the advertisements, the publishers cannot be held responsible for errors or their subsequent effects.

Fadi

AL SHAQAB

(Besson Carol x Abha Myra) 2008 Stallion

2013 GOLD WORLD CHAMPION

© Gigi Grasso

Mashkora

AL SHAQAB

pseterra@qf.org.qa www.AlShaqab.com

© Ziggy Wellens

(Fadi Al Shaqab x Marwa Al Shaqab) 2014 Filly

Wadee

AL SHAQAB

(Marwan Al Shaqab x OFW Mishaahl) 2010 Stallion

Miznah

AL SHAQAB

© Stuart Vesty

2012 GOLD WORLD CHAMPION

© Ziggy Wellens

(Wadee Al Shaqab x Magheeda Al Shaqab) 2014 Filly

Frozen semen available in Australia Please contact Mr. Peter Hall FAIRVIEW ARABIAN STUD 07 4129 6211 fairview.arabian@bigpond.com

An Interview with

Doyle Dertell

by David Gillett

Doyle riding SF Sir Real

C

anadian born Doyle Dertell would have to be one of the most recognisable faces in the Australian Arabian industry today. One of the most successful trainers, handlers and breeders in this country, along with wife Kate Dertell they run Future Farms, a major player in the show, breeding and now endurance and Arabian racing circles.

I enjoy heading back to America because for me, it is like what Australia was all those years ago. It is new, and exciting, and I am out of my comfort zone. The great thing about showing in the United States is that you can show without winning, yet still be thought of as doing well. With the number of horses in the ring at some of the shows, a top ten is still a great result and to win is just awesome.

I sat down with Doyle to discover a little more about the man most often seen at the end of a lead in the winners circle. In his own words…

The major difference between trainers here and in America is that in America, the trainers understand it is the people themselves who are keeping the industry alive. Of course, there are some rivalries like anywhere but for the most part, these guys are on the same side. For example if someone comes to a barn looking for a specific type of horse and this trainer doesn’t have it, he won’t ask the buyer to wait until he does. He will send the buyer down the road to another trainer, and then perhaps

I first came to Australia after meeting the Bremervale team in the USA. They asked me to show for them during the Australian show season, so I came out for the Australian Championships and then showed through the Queensland Autumn show season.

From there, the job offers kept coming and eventually, Australia became home.

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again after that if that trainer doesn’t have anything either. They all seem to understand that the most important thing is that the person buys a horse, and becomes interested in the breed, because otherwise they may move onto a boat, a car, or another hobby purchase. In the end, it’s the people who are interested in the Arabian and want to buy them, enjoy them, show or ride them that keep the industry going…not the trainers or breeders. That’s not to say that Australian trainers are not like that, but it appears to be more the norm in America. It could also be due to the fact there are more people in the USA who make their living from the horses, whereas in Australia it is only a handful.

Show numbers are down across the board.

Obviously economics are a major player in this phenomena, as the price for everything continues to rise and it becomes more difficult for people to show their horses.

Doyle showing Sienna Journey in Harness

I also believe that the quality of horses has been raised significantly, and this in turn has had an effect on the number of horses being shown. Australia has a strong record of sending great horses to compete successfully around the world. When I first came to Australia, there were plenty of good horses but only every couple of years a superstar would appear who would be competitive anywhere. Today, there are many of these top quality horses so while in the past people might bring a string of yearling fillies to a show, now they only bring their best. With the investment that goes with preparing and showing a horse, combined with the high quality of the competition, it makes sense to only bring your best.

The horse is facing a crossroad in its history.

Less people are taking up the interest, and as I mentioned earlier, it’s the people that make the industry. Two generations ago, many people would have a horse in the backyard or have horses close by, even in the suburbs. Horse and carriage often delivered the milk until the 1960s, and horses were featured on television a lot more often than they are now. One generation ago, most city people would have a country cousin who would have horses, and so more often than not, those that were pre-disposed to love horses would have the opportunity to make contact with them. Today, while it may sound surprising to most of us, the majority of the younger generation born in cities have never even touched a horse.

We need to find new ways to engage these people, new ways for them to see, touch and experience the Arabian horse. We need to encourage people to get involved, and

protect newcomers from being burned and leaving the industry to buy a boat!

My passion is not for training or halter showing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy it immensely, but I guess you could say I am a horseman first, and a halter trainer second.

I enjoy the work we do on the breeding side…I guess you could say that is my passion. I love the thrill of winning in the showring, but it is fleeting compared to seeing that foal you bred being born and it is everything you had hoped it would be. At Future Farms I now do all of the breeding work with our mares, using our own scanner and today we can collect embryos, freeze semen and inseminate mares.

Sometimes I look at a horse on the farm and I can remember the day its mother was inseminated, what I was feeling or what else I was doing that day…and to see that living, breathing thing that you created standing in front of you or with a ribbon around its neck, well it’s a marvellous thing.

I know it’s a cliché but I am really looking forward to the 2016 foal crop at Future Farms…much more than ever before. It’s not often that you have two new stallions having foals in the same year, however this year we have the first Australian crop by Spades LRA, and the first foals anywhere

by Sir Charmed FF. Spades LRA is on lease from the USA for two years and if he is anything like the last stallion we leased from that country, SF Sir Real (sire of Sir Charmed FF), then we are in for something special.

These short term lease horses may not be perfect for every mare, but for many they are and luckily we have enough mares here to

give us the best chance of making the best matches. First with SF Sir Real, and now with Spades LRA, these kind of international leases are something we would like to move forward with, more regularly.

The most important client service is honesty.

If a client has an average horse and wants to win an Australian Championship, we will tell them the truth of the situation. We meet with our clients regularly to discuss realistic goals. We want clients to be elated by their success, rather than stressed and disappointed because their unrealistic goals mean their horses underperform.

This business should be about creating happiness, and that’s what we are all about.

Australia is now my home. Even with the success of Sir Charmed FF, Gameelah and others, I am not really tempted to head back to the USA any time soon. If the right opportunity presented itself we might split our time between the two countries, but for now we are happy with who we are and what we have. Never say never…but I am pretty sure I am here to stay.

Doyle and Kate at Al Shaqab in 2015

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

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Eirinn’s Spirit

S TA N D I N G AT P U B L I C S T U D

Photo: Ellie Garvey

™

Chaswyck Ibn Al Riyah S TA N D I N G AT P U B L I C S T U D

Photo: Ellie Garvey

Contact: Ellie Garvey | Gympie, QLD P: +61 41228 2675 E: gleneirinn@hotmail.com www.gleneirinn.com

Your horse.

Our passion.

With over 40 years experience transporting horses around the globe and offices in the UK, Germany, USA, New Zealand and Australia, IRT is the world leader when it comes to the international movement of horses.

With our global network of offices, IRT offers a one stop shop solution, offering peace of mind that your horse couldn’t be in better hands.

To find out how we can help you and your horse contact IRT today.

IRT Australia: Tel +61 3 9643 3000 IRT New Zealand: Tel +64 9297 2022 IRT UK & Europe: Tel +44 1638 668 003 IRT North America: Chicago: Tel +1 630 513 0312 LA: Tel +1 310 306 0262

A TR IO OF TR E A SUR ES WORTH MOR E TH A N G OLD

Klassical Devotion Mi

Klassical Presence Mi

Venecia Mi

Australian National Gold Champion Junior Filly

Australian National Gold Champion Senior Mare

Australian National Gold Champion Yearling Filly

All Three National Champions Proudly Bred, Owned & Shown

by Mulawa Arabian Stud

All Three National Champions Expertly Trained & Presented by Cameron Bonney

“SUCCESS IS NOT THE KEY TO HAPPINESS. HAPPINESS IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS. IF YOU LOVE WHAT YOU ARE DOING, YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL.” Brian Tracy

Br eeding wor ld cl a ss A r a bi a ns www.mulawaarabians.com.au Greg, Julie & Jane Farrell 61-65 Bay Rd, Berrilee NSW 2159 P: (02) 9655 1000 M: 0412 517 188 E: julie.farrell@mulawa.com.au

THE LEGEND GROWS

K lass

January 2003 Stallion (TS Al Malik x Karmaa by Kaborr) First-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the KARMAA Family Three-Time Australian National Champion Four-Time East Coast Champion 2015 WAHO Horse of the Year – Australia

Sire of Reigning Australian National Champions KLASSICAL PRESENCE MI Australian National Gold Champion Senior Mare

KHROME MI Australian National Gold Champion Junior Gelding

KLASSICAL DEVOTION MI Australian National Gold Champion Junior Filly

MYSTERE MI Preliminary Dressage Tour National Champion ~ Purebred

“YOUR REPUTATION FOR GREATNESS IS FAST BECOMING LEGEND.” Phil Jackson

UNCOM PROM ISING DE VOTION

K lassical Devotion MI

November 2012 Mare (Klass x Mulawa Kiara by Magnum Psyche) Fourth-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion Member of the KARMAA Family Australian National Gold Champion Junior Filly | 2016 Australian National Reserve Champion Junior Filly | 2015 East Coast Champion Two Year Old Filly | 2015 Australian National Champion Yearling Filly | 2014 National Stud Show Champion Yearling Filly | 2013 Now in Europe with Schoukens Training Centre | Belgium

“DEVOTION, LIKE FIRE, GOETH UPWARD.” Zoroaster

T HE BR EED ’S FIR S T MOT HER-DAUGH T ER C OM BI N AT ION OF AUS T R A L I A N N AT ION A L CH A M PION J UNIOR & SENIOR M A R ES

Photo: Stuart Vesty

The Farrell Family with Parada | 2010

Parada

January 2007 Mare (Magnum Forty Four x Presence by GLF Apollo) Third-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the DZINA Family Australian National Champion Senior Mare | 2012 East Coast Champion Senior Mare | 2012 Australian National Champion Junior Mare | 2010 East Coast Champion Junior Mare | 2010 Aristocrat Dam of Five Champions on Four Continents

“A MOTHER’S TREASURE IS HER DAUGHTER.” Cassandra Martin

M A K ING HER PR ESENCE K NOWN

The Farrell Family with Klassical Presence MI | 2015

K lassical Presence MI

March 2012 Mare (Klass x Parada by Magnum Forty Four) Fifth-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the DZINA Family Australian National Gold Champion Senior Mare | 2016 ~ unanimous Australian National Champion Junior Filly | 2015 Australian National Champion Junior Filly | 2014 The Sixth Consecutive MulawaBred Australian National Champion Senior Mare The First Three-Time Successive Australian National Champion Purebred Filly/Mare Now in Europe with Schoukens Training Centre | Belgium

“DIFFICULT TO DESCRIBE, IMPOSSIBLE TO DENY, PRESENCE WILL FOREVER CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE THE WORLD.” Alexandra Bancroft

A DDING K L A SS TO THE NE X T GENER ATION OF E XCELLENCE

MI

K lassique November 2015 Stallion (Klass x Mustang’s Magnum

by Magnum Forty Four)

Second-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the SAHTARAH Family Full brother to KLASSICAL DREAM MI & MI KLASSIC FANTASY

K lassical Fame MI September 2015 Mare (Klass x Forever Fame by Fame Maker R) Fifth-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the DZINA Family Three-Quarter Sister to KLASSICAL PRESENCE MI

“IT IS THE SUPREME RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH GENERATION TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT WILL OUTLAST THE NEXT.” Alexander Hamilton

THE HEIR TR IUM PH A NT

Allegiance MI

January 2009 Stallion (Magnum Forty Four x Audacia by Parkview Audacious) Fourth-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the KARMAA Family National Stud Show Champion Yearling Colt | 2009 Sire of Reigning Australian National Champions

VENECIA MI National Gold Champion Yearling Filly SALUTE MI National Gold Champion Yearling Gelding ALLEGIANT MI National Champion Silver Snaffle Purebred

“HEIR TODAY, LEGEND TOMORROW.” Luther Van Erwen

G A I NI NG T HE A DVA N T AGE | C R E AT I NG BR IL L I A NC E W I T H A L L E GI A NC E M I & VA L E N T I N E M I

Advantage MI

November 2012 Stallion (Allegiance MI x Valentine MI by DA Valentino) Fifth-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the VALENTINE MI Family Australian National Champion Junior Colt | 2015

Venice MI

Now in North America with Keith Krichke

October 2015 Mare (Allegiance MI x Valentine MI by DA Valentino)

“NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, IT IS WITHIN OUR POWER TO TURN IT TO OUR ADVANTAGE.” Epictetus

A M A ST ER PIECE IN T HE M A K ING

Venecia MI

October 2014 Mare (Allegiance MI x Valentine MI by DA Valentino) Fifth-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the VALENTINE MI Family Australian National Champion Yearling Filly | 2016 East Coast Champion Yearling Filly | 2016

“THE CREATION OF BEAUTY IS ART.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

STR IK ING G OLD IN THE BIG A PPLE

Valentino’s Angel MI

September 2011 Mare (DA Valentino x Always An Angel by SK Shakla Khan) Seventh-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the M ANGELIQUE Family US Arabian Open Gold Champion Senior Mare | 2015 Arabian Breeders World Cup Supreme Bronze Champion Senior Mare | 2015 Arabian Breeders World Cup Champion Four Year Old Mare | 2015 United States National Champion Three Year Old Mare | 2014 Canadian National Champion Senior Mare | 2014 ~ unanimous Region 14 Champion Senior Mare | 2014 ~ unanimous Australian National Champion Yearling Filly | 2013 ~ unanimous

Proudly Owned by Al Mohamadia Stud | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“HAPPY IS THE HEART THAT BELIEVES IN ANGELS.” Anonymous

THE INTER NATIONA L GOLD STA NDA R D

Vangelis MI

August 2013 Stallion (DA Valentino x Always An Angel by SK Shakla Khan) Seventh-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the M ANGELIQUE Family Scottsdale International Breeders Classic Gold Champion Junior Colt | 2016 ~ unanimous

Highest Scoring Horse of the Show | Australasian Breeders Cup 2015

Highest Scoring Junior Male | Scottsdale International Breeders Classic 2016

Australian National Champion Yearling Colt | 2015 ~ unanimous

Australasian Breeders Cup Gold Champion Junior Colt | 2015

Highest Scoring Horse of the Show | Australian National Championships 2015

Now in North America with Andrew Sellman | Argent Farms

“SHINE BRIGHTER THAN GOLD, BURN BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN.” Gregory Maguire

T HE U LT I M AT E A R A BI A N A M B A SS A D OR

Mulawa Bronze Wings

with Dan Steers

November 2005 Stallion (Magnum Psyche x On Angels Wings by TS Al Malik) Third-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the M ANGELIQUE Family Australian National Champion Ridden Arabian Stallion Twice East Coast Cup Champion Purebred National Stud Show Supreme Champion Ridden Exhibit Equine Entertainer with Double Dan Horsemanship

“INHERENT INTELLIGENCE, TRAINABILITY AND EAGERNESS TO PLEASE MAKES BRONZE WINGS A NATURAL EQUINE AMBASSADOR.” Dan Steers

BR INGING THE BEST F R OM A R OUND T HE WOR L D TO MU L AWA

Kavalier MI October 2013 Stallion (Marwan Al Shaqab x Karess by Magnum Forty Four) Third-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the KARMAA Family

Australian National Silver Champion Junior Colt | 2016 East Coast Champion Two Year Old Colt | 2016 National Stud Show Champion Junior Colt | 2015

“SET YOUR LIFE ON FIRE. SEEK THAT WHICH FANS YOUR FLAME.” Kumi

Photo: Pat Slater

CELEBR ATING A N E X TR AOR DINA RY LEG AC Y

MULAWA CHANCE with Greg Farrell National Stud Show Champion Mare 1987

Mulawa Chance (pictured in March 2014) November 1982 – December 2015 (Ambition x Grojecca by Grojec) Mulawa Foundation Mare | Foundress of Seven Generations of the MULAWA CHANCE Family

ARISTOCRAT DAM OF FIVE CHAMPIONS Source of Reigning Australian National Champions MYSTERE MI Preliminary Dressage Tour National Champion ~ Purebred (Klass x Mystic Fame by Fame Maker R) KHROME MI National Gold Champion Junior Gelding (Klass x Fames Harmony by Fame Maker R) LOVER GIRL FF National Gold Champion Ridden Arabian Mare (BruMarBas Future x Fames Passion by Fame Maker R) ECHOS OF TOMORROW National Gold Champion Yearling Colt ~ unanimous (Echos of Marwan x Falzon Tomorrow’s Dream

by GLF Apollo)

“LEGACY IS THE GOODNESS LEFT BEHIND FROM THE ACTIONS OF A LIFETIME.” James Michener

ENJOY ING THE CON TIN UED BLESSINGS OF GOOD K A R M A A

The Daughters of Karmaa MULAWA KARISMAA

MAE MARIE

(Magnum Psyche)

(TS Al Malik)

January 2004 Mare

November 1999 Mare

Twice Australian National Champion

Twice National Stud Show Champion Twice Australian National Reserve Champion

MULAWA KARA MIA MI

MULAWA MARIETA

(GLF Apollo)

(TS Al Malik)

September 1995 Mare

January 2002 Mare

National Stud Show Champion Aristocrat Dam of Four Champions

East Coast Reserve Champion

“KARMA IS THE UNIVERSAL LAW OF CAUSE & EFFECT. SOW WITH PURPOSE, GOODNESS & INTENT, AND YOU SHALL REAP BLESSINGS IN ABUNDANCE.” Hindu Proverb

T H E S U C C E S S O F T O M O R R OW I S B U I LT U P O N T HE DR E A M S OF T HE PA S T

The Daughters of Karmaa The Pages River at Alabama Stud | December 2015

“WE WILL BE FOREVER KNOWN BY THE TRACKS WE LEAVE BEHIND US...” Dakota Saying

Br eeding wor ld cl a ss A r a bi a ns www.mulawaarabians.com.au Greg, Julie & Jane Farrell 61-65 Bay Rd, Berrilee NSW 2159 P: (02) 9655 1000 M: 0412 517 188 E: julie.farrell@mulawa.com.au

Foxridge

Farm

by David Gillett

Elomina (PL) Eryks (PL) x Elocea (PL)

A

long a picturesque, winding road just a few kilometres inland from the vibrant town of Coffs Harbour nestles an Arabian stud now in its fourth decade of breeding…Foxridge Farm.

Owned by Lisa and Fred Smith, the picturesque homestead is shared with their two teenage sons, and a trio of very elegant Bengal and Egyptian Mau cats who serenely observe this strange new visitor to their domain. On top of a hill, this homestead overlooks the paddocks which house some of Lisa and Fred’s most prized possessions, their broodmares.

‘I’ve been horse mad for as long as I can remember. I used to ride any horses that anyone would let me. I got my first pony at around 15, followed not long after by an Anglo mare,’ says Lisa. ‘I came across Arabians quite early on, through photos and books and they just always seemed like what I wanted in a horse.’

Lisa and Fred met when Lisa fell off her first horse that happened to be agisted in a vacant block next to where Fred and his family lived. Fred’s mother sent him out to help Lisa after the fall, and the rest is history.

‘He is very supportive of the horses although

it’s not really his thing. He does enjoy looking at what we have now and helps with breeding, foaling and so on when I need it.’

When I meet Lisa and Fred, I am struck however by the level of knowledge and support that Fred demonstrates, even though Arabian horses appear to be Lisa’s passion.

Theirs is a true partnership to be admired.

Foxridge Stud began approximately 35 years ago with the main aim, at that time, to simply ‘have some nice riding horses that looked pretty’. The name Foxridge comes from a somewhat unlikely source, explains Lisa. ‘We

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At one point the stallion Simeon Shavvot (Imperial Madaar x Simeon Soosa) was used as an outcross however he has since been sold and none of his progeny retained.

In recent years Foxridge Farm has experienced a higher profile within the Arabian horse industry due to some major changes within the stud’s core bloodlines.

Funkia (PL) Gazal Al Shaqab (QA) x Fantazja (PL)

used to show dogs, Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Foxhounds. Foxridge was a combination of the two breeds and sounded like a good idea. Now we either register the horses with Foxridge prefix or FX suffix. We also use the name for our British White cattle.’

From the beginning, and even up until today Lisa says that Foxridge has never bred for a specific market… ‘we breed for ourselves’.

That said, there is a significant number of their homebred horses now out competing in endurance and as pleasure horses, and they have also sold several into overseas markets, mostly for endurance.

In 1990 Lisa and Fred began their stud in earnest by purchasing a number of horses from the well known breeder Lillaine Gedye, of Gedye Arabian Stud in Southern New South Wales. Many of us will remember Lillaine Gedye as one of the most passionate promoters of Polish bloodlines in the 70s and 80s, and a look back through the magazines of that time show her dedication and creativity in her advertising. Alongside Mulawa, this farm is responsible for bringing most of the early Polish blood to Australia at that time.

These foundation mares, all Pure Polish included Gedye Liliakani (Khundjur x Lilliana Bint Lillaine), two daughters of Lillaine’s prized foundation mare Etelka (Legend of Europe x Etyka), Gedye Elegance (Mexi x Etelka) and her younger sister Gedye Eurydice (Khundjur x Etelka) as well as Lillian (Ambition x Lillaine).

Lisa remembers, ‘I flew to downtown Tumut from Central Queensland. I had never met Lillaine so it was a huge adventure for me.

A few years later we purchased a couple

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more of Lillaine’s mares when she decided to disperse her stud, including another daughter of Etelka, Gedye Latelka by Cyrasa, then several more from Coolinda Park.

‘We bred a few foals and some went into endurance homes, some went to Pony Club etc. A colt, Moving Violation (Crème Dynasty x Gedye Latelka) was shown very successfully as a young horse. Basically though, with small children and work we didn’t have much time for showing or competition of any kind.’

Foxridge Farm was known not only for their athletic horses at that time, but also the creative and unique names these horses were given. Names such as Striptease, Passionate Kisses, Indecent Obsession, Smoke Alarm, I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Erotica, I’m Hott Too (who ironically was

From the beginning, and even up until today Lisa says that Foxridge has never bred for a specific market… ‘we breed for ourselves’. exported to Bahrain) and Porn Starr.

‘They were just for fun really but thought they’d also look great in adverts and show catalogues. There was also Moving Violation, Stripperella and Foxylicious.

Fantasize was born more recently and then Velveteen’s name comes from the Transvision Vamp song.’

Fred explains, ‘We loved the horses that we had, as individuals, but noticing what was going on around us we knew we had to do something else. Although we wanted to try and stay with the Polish lines we had become frustrated with where we were heading. It was pretty much down to either stopping altogether, or a major change. We knew what we wanted to breed, we just had to work out how to get there.’

The couple decided to fly to the USA for a weekend to see Emigrant (Ararat x Emigrantka) and his colts at Valley Oak Arabians. It had always been intended to incorporate the lines of Ararat into the Foxridge program, and so the trip to the USA was to decide whether to use Emigrant semen or import a colt sired by him.

‘When Extravagance (from Erotika by Pesal) was led out we both knew he was the horse we needed. He was tall, elegant, athletic and correct. He also had great movement and a sweet nature combined with an awesome pedigree. We flew home to decide what we would do, although the decision to buy him was pretty easy. The hard part was getting home and deciding I really wanted to change what I was doing.’

The next step in Lisa and Fred’s story was one that many breeders face, yet rarely have the initiative or confidence to undertake. In the ultimate act of bravery, Lisa and Fred gelded all of their stallions and put nearly all of their mares on the market. Their stud was to be reborn, with Extravagance VO as their head sire. Only now, they needed to purchase mares that were his equal. And of course, where else to begin their quest other than Poland.

‘Funkia was a real surprise purchase. I had received the Pride of Poland catalogue and spent many hours looking through it and watching the DVD. We had booked our trip over and hoped to be able to buy a mare in foal. Funkia was always the one I wanted, however we were advised to look

Extravagance VO

imp USA

Emigrant x Erotika

Titanium FX

iiu Poland

Ekstern x Funkia imp Poland

Photo: Samantha Taylor

Photo: Jennifer Ogden

Sta n ding at Stud, pr ivate t reat y. C h il l ed S eme n onl y.

Breeding Pure Polish horses Euro FX (pending) weanling gelding

Extravagance VO x Fantasize FX

Lisa Smith | Foxridge Farm 1199 Coramba Rd, Karangi NSW 2450 p: 0419 225 633 | foxridgefarm@bigpond.com | www.foxridgefarm.com.au

at something else as her reserve was out of our budget and we wouldn’t get her.’

However, fate was in their favour and unbeknownst to Lisa, who was sitting in front of Fred at a round table, Fred made the winning bid. ‘I hadn’t realised it was our bid. Funkia had a very high reserve on her.

Something had happened and the auction wasn’t going as well as hoped. Bidding had slowed down. When Funkia came through Fred put the opening bid on her and then someone else started. There was only one more bid and that was ours. I hadn’t realised Fred bid again as it went past our budget.

When she was knocked down and sold I looked around the see who had bought her and completely dead pan, Fred said that I had!

I really couldn’t believe that we owned her.’

Upon meeting Funkia one can understand why the Arabian horse industry was so interested in this sale to Australia at the time. She is an elegant, serene mare who has an aura of authority about herself. She is a dignified lady indeed of epic quality. When I visited Funkia, she had a gorgeous bay filly on her side, Velveteen FX…and what a filly!

I remember thinking I had not seen such a beautiful and correct filly in a very long time…she is very exciting.

Funkia made the trip out in foal to Ekstern and foaled a magnificent grey colt named Titanium FX. Now a long three-year-old, he will breed his first mares this coming season. An injury as a youngster means that he will not have a show career, however it is hoped he will breed on as his pedigree suggests. He is a combination of both

Titanium FX (PL) Ekstern (PL) x Funkia (PL)

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parents’ good qualities, perhaps slightly taller than both, with a cheeky personality and a beautiful face. He was the horse that I personally had been looking forward to seeing the most, and he did not disappoint.

In fact, I believe I may have actually thanked Lisa and Fred on behalf of all of Australia for bringing him here!

Funkia was shown at the Australian National Championships for a Top Five, and like most Polish horses her extraordinary movement was noticed by everyone. Extravagance also attended a few shows, and his wins included Champion Intermediate Colt at the 2013 Gala Show, with Reserve to him being Fred and Lisa’s homebred colt, The Katalyst.

During this time, plans were being made to import another mare from Poland. Lisa had tried to bid on a few mares at the 2013 Summer Sale, however she was outbid on all of them. There was a pretty, grey filly by Eryks (Gazal Al Shaqab x Emmona) from Elocea (Salar x Eusala) who caught Lisa’s eye, however she did not sell. ‘I wanted to bring out a mare in foal to Equator (QR Marc x Ekliptyka). We had watched him in Poland and he is an amazing young stallion.’ As luck would have it, Elomina came up again for sale in the Autumn sale and with only a couple of two-year-old photos of her to make a judgement, Lisa took a chance and was the winning bidder.

Elomina remained at Bialka and was bred to Equator. Once safely in foal, she began the long journey to Australia. ‘After only seeing those two photos, it seemed like forever before we saw her in the flesh. To

see her get off the truck was just amazing… she was so much better than we could have imagined.’ Elomina was soon to foal a bay colt, Epic FX who is very promising.

Today, the breeding program is made up of the three stallions Extravagance VO, Titanium FX and Epic FX (12 months old).

The mares are Funkia, Elomina, Velveteen FX (Pogrom x Funkia) and a baby filly, Silk FX by Extravagance VO x Passionate Kisses. There are two remaining females from the original herd, Fantasize FX (Fanatyk x Coolinda Park Foxiling) who produced one of the finest colts the stud has ever bred in 2015, by Extravagance VO and Passionate Kisses (Crème Dynasty x Xialoing).

‘We are wanting to continue breeding world class Polish line horses. A high quality horse that is functional and beautiful. One of the best things right now is seeing the foals by Extravagance VO, he has done exactly what we had hoped, however really just being able to enjoy having them here is a huge highlight for me.’

Lisa and Fred wish to remain a small stud, breeding only perhaps two or three foals per season. ‘The market for any horse is difficult at the moment. If you’re breeding just in the hope of selling then you will be disappointed. The availability of international stallions via frozen semen makes keeping colts a difficult decision.’

If all goes according to plan, this season will see the arrival of three foals at Foxridge, with Funkia due to Extravagance VO and both Elomina and Fantasize FX in foal to Pogrom.

Fantasize FX with 2015 colt by Extravagance VO PC: Jennifer Ogden

Velveteen FX Pogrom (PL) x Funkia (PL)

M

(Laheeb Al Nasser by Al Adeed Al Shaqab x Ghazala Al Saba by Thaqib Al Nasser)

Standing with Paul Hedges International Enquiries – Kimberley Michel | +61 437 087 499 | kimberley.michel@yahoo.com.au Photo: G.Lilley

Ghazaal M

by Kimberley Michel

Ghazaal M PC: Glenys Lilley

F

ew names are as recognisable as Ansata Halim Shah. Imported by Al Shaqab Stud, he sadly passed away at 14 years of age having sired only two sons in the Middle East; Qatar National Champion Stallion Thaqib Al Nasser and World Champion Stallion Al Adeed Al Shaqab. Ghazaal M is a grandson of both. He embodies the Halim Shah look and we are excited about his future.

Ghazaal is by Nayla Hayek’s Laheeb Al Nasser (Al Adeed Al Shaqab x Bint Saida Al Nasser). Bint Saida Al Nasser is a Reserve World Champion Mare sired by Imperial

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Ghazaal M as a foal

Mahzeer, a son of Maar Bilahh whose contribution, combined with that of Al Adeed Al Shaqab’s dam, Sundar Alisayyah is obvious in Ghazaal’s overall balance.

It is one thing to be sired by an excellent stallion but a breeding horse must also come from a strong dam line. We chose Ghazaal’s grandmother J’adore Madinah for her dam, the exotic black beauty, MB Madirah who is tail female to Farida through Gleannloch’s Egyptian import Ghazalahh (Mashour x Bint Farida), called ‘the most beautiful mare to have left Egypt’. Bred by the Egyptian Agricultural Organization, Ghazalahh did not

Ghazala Al Saba

Laheeb Al Nasser

produce a foal for Gleannloch. Her daughter Inas remained in Egypt as the only heir to carry forth her mother’s legacy producing 12 foals including Bint Inas, the grand dam of Indirah. Indirah was bred to Imperial Madheen a number of times producing three fillies, one of which is MB Madirah. As perhaps Imperial Egyptian Stud’s most well known sire, Imperial Madheen needs no introduction but it is interesting to note that Ghazaal’s pedigree boasts crosses to this patriarch of the breed through his get Imperial Mahzeer, Imperial Madanah and MB Madirah.

that she should be named after the aforementioned Ghazalahh of Gleannloch.

J’adore Madinah was bred by Sally Thompson, who knew and loved Anaza El Nizr (Ruminaja Ali x Bint Deenaa) and therefore added his blood to the pedigree.

The St Clair’s marrying of Ruminaja Ali to Bint Deenaa also produced Anaza El Farid, sire of World Champion Stallion Gazal Al Shaqab. Bint Deenaa was also bred to Shaikh Al Badi producing Anaza Bay Shahh, one of the great sires for Simeon Stud.

Her contribution as a broodmare is valued as amongst the best in the business.

When we bred Ghazala Al Saba to Laheeb Al Nasser we dreamt of reuniting those two sons of the desert.

In imagining the future, we thought of the past, and hoped for Ghazaal.

When bred to Thaqib Al Nasser, J’adore Madinah produced two beautiful foals.

I remember the phone call when the second of these was born. The excitement in Louise’s voice was obvious from ‘hello’. She described a beautiful filly, born black with ‘spectacles’ indicating that she would be grey when mature. When the conversation turned to what to call her we said ‘Ghazala!’ in unison, agreeing

Our Ghazala was a beautiful foal and she grows lovelier each year. At seven years of age she is a classic beauty and a doting mother. Admired by all who see her, we have received countless emails from those who have gazed upon her and fallen in love. The wonderful thing about our breed is the horses grow more beautiful with time and Ghazala is amongst Thaqib Al Nasser’s very best. Already exotic, she will be magnificent in her teens.

You may ask what it is we love best about Ghazaal. It is his silken coat that never grows coarse and the way his large eyes reflect the light. It is his absolute love for himself, his movement and his incredible balance. It is his tail carriage and his fine black skin. Yes, we love all of these things and more. It is the physical expression of his pedigree that sets him apart.

This year Ghazaal will sire foals by Straight Egyptian daughters of Anaza El Nizr, Imperial Madaar, Classic Shadwan and Ansata Iemhotep. We are equally excited about what the mares of international lines will produce when bred to him. Many of the great horses of our time were born out of mares of

Polish, Russian, Spanish and mixed descent crossed to Straight Egyptian stallions; Patron the sire of Padron, Ali Jamaal, Gazal Al Shaqab and El Shaklan come to mind.

Ghazaal’s grand dam, J’adore Madinah is due to foal early this coming season.

Ghazala Al Saba is due later in the year.

If there is one thing I love, it is a mare carrying a precious foal. There is no creature quite so breathtaking. I love the way she glows, the way her attitude mellows ever so slightly. She transitions from impulsive, all snort and blow, to a serene beauty – grand and self-preserving.

We plan to breed J’adore Madinah, Ghazala Al Saba, Gloriana Al Saba (Thaqib Al Nasser x Simeon Shakova by Prince Fa Moniet) and Simeon Sa’afa (Imperial Madaar x Simeon Safta from Maardassa) this season.

In the hope of gaining daughters to pair with Ghazaal we have some exciting services booked. We will defy tradition a little this year. It is a new chapter we look forward to with great anticipation.

Our foals are rarely offered for sale but now and again a special individual becomes available.

In you Ghazaal we see Ruminaja Ali and Bint Deenaa married once again.

Imperial Madheen and Malekat El Gamal give their blessing, and those two desert-bred sons of Ansata Halim Shah are reunited in a new generation. May you sire many drinkers of the wind.

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

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Quartz Hill Farm

A little girl’s dream... a lifetime journey

by Ally Hudson

Editor’s note: As anyone who has spent time with her would know, Ally Hudson is one of the most genuine and caring people in the Arabian horse industry today. If there is an information day, horse show, open day or any other kind of gathering within driving distance, Ally and her husband Ray will always give up their time to try and support it. Ally doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk and with her wide smile and sparkling eyes, she does it with rare grace, eagerness and style. Honoured with a Distinguished Service Award from the Arabian Horse Society, there is so much that many of us can learn from Ally Hudson, and I am honoured she chose to tell her story in this edition of Arabian Studs & Stallions.

QHF Emotion

Wagga Agricultural Colleges at the time. It was a huge thrill to help lead their Arabians in the grand parade and on one occasion they legged me up on Delos (Spindrift x Iona) and led me around…what a delight! It was at Sydney Royal that I first saw and fell in love with Banderol (Sindh x Balsora) and Ballerina (Shafreyn x Baksheesh). What a joy those couple of years were as a young girl. The Arabian Dream stayed with me and I later attended more shows, sat in the grandstands and watched the Arabian classes. It was during that time that my love for El Shaklan (Shaker El Masri x Estopa) blood began.

I noticed that the horses I admired most carried a high percentage of his blood.

Unfortunately my desire to own an El Shaklan related horse was put on hold for quite a few years, but the desire never left me.

In the meantime, while waiting to find my dream Arabian I continued riding whenever I could and purchased a part Arabian palomino colt, Majura Gold. He and I competed in two of the earliest Tom Quilty Cups and I had the privilege of riding with RM Williams, his wife Erica, and Ron Males.

They were very supportive and helpful and I won a coveted Tom Quilty Buckle at my second attempt. I also competed in and completed the first ACT Endurance ride.

A

s the curtain comes down on my lifetime of breeding Arabians I am moved to write these few words.

Thank you to the Arabian horse for the lifetime of joy and friendships you have given me.

My love of horses began as a little girl.

I would cut out pictures and paste them in books and ride broomstick horses with

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socks for heads. I soon learned to sew on eyes, make halters, manes and forelocks and they got better each time.

Growing up in the eastern suburbs of Sydney there wasn’t much chance to have hands on experiences with horses, however I took myself along to the Sydney Royal Easter Show and befriended George Thompson and Dave Cox, principals of Hawkesbury and

I then purchased a Crabbet gelding from Leo Campbell of Santarabia Stud, Santarabia Ramah (Ruberto x Santarabia Shaleen). He was two when I bought him and I had him until his death at 25 years. That is a large chunk of life. He and I were best buddies, and his forte was polocrosse and sporting events which we both enjoyed. I played Polocrosse No. 2 on him for Bungendore for a few seasons and he also played in the men’s competition. One highlight was when he was

Quartz Hill farm

Honours 0ur Champion Mare

QHF Puss in Boots (Eastwinds Ovation dec x QHF Elusive Star) Australian National Championships Top Ten Yearling Filly Accreditation in a list of Australia’s Premier Broodmares Many other major awards

M a r e s of t h i s C a l i br e C r e at e T h e i r O w n D y n a s t y

Dam of FOUR Exceptional Foals

Sharon Meyers

Framed by Frame

SWD Images

QHF Ooh La La

QHF Georgia Peach

QHF Emotion

(Om El Eminence Imp USA)

(American Hero Imp USA)

(Om El Eminence Imp USA)

Champion Filly East Coast 2011

Champion Filly

Australian National Top Ten each time shown plus many other major awards.

In foal to Eastwinds Axplosion 2016.

Dam of two exceptional black foals – QHF Dark Desire and full brother unnamed – both by Crave FF.

Reserve Champion Yearling Colt East Coast 2013 Full brother to QHF Ooh La La.

There are four Quartz Hill Farm bred horses competing very successfully in Endurance in Australia and overseas. Thank you to their owners for selecting our El Shaklan bred horses for this demanding sport.

Proving that these lines are not only pretty but versatile.

Q uartz Hill farm

Visitors always welcome Meriell Bilney

QHF Kit Kat (Ray of Light)

Multi Champion 2yo Buckskin Filly, keeping up the family’s winning tradition

Contact Ray and Ally Hudson E: quartzhill@yless4u.com.au | 0427264263 Ally | 0412676123 Ray OR Ally Hudson Bungendore, on Facebook FOR MORE PICTURES OF THESE AND OUR OTHER ARABIANS PLEASE VISIT

w w w. q u a rt z h i l l a r a bi a n s . c o m

QHF Kit Kat (Ray of Light x Quartz Hill Farm Puss In Boots)

awarded Best Men’s A Grade No 2 Horse of the Carnival out of 22 teams, ridden by Brian White. What a coup for an Arabian horse.

These years reinforced my ongoing love of the Arabian horse and strengthened my resolve to purchase an El Shaklan line mare.

At that time any purebred Arabian mare was, at the minimum, $5,000, which in those days was a lot of money. I was fortunate enough to meet Lynn and Steve Worsley from Joda Arabians and purchased Joda Azar, a beautiful bay yearling filly from Simeon Sanegor’s first crop of foals. My late husband Cec Guy was instrumental in purchasing her, insisting she was the one we had to have.

Time has proven he was so right.

Lynn, Steve and Simeon Sanegor were inspirational to us. They became part of the Arabian Lifestyle Group, together with the lovely Richard and Linda Walsh and Les Bradney and Tom Tancred of Eastwinds, who all became my lifelong friends.

After Cec passed away I remained on my farm and later remarried. My husband Ray, originally a farmer from Nyngan,

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has supported my dreams through the last 17 or so years. He too had fallen under the spell of the Arabian horse and together we bred two fillies from Joda Azar, one of which we retained for the stud.

My love of horses began as a little girl. I would cut out pictures and paste them in books and ride broomstick horses with socks for heads.

We named her Quartz Hill Farm Elusive Star by Fairview Exclusive (Amir El Shaklan x Esperanza).She bred some lovely foals for us including our current top broodmare, Quartz Hill Farm Puss In Boots by Eastwinds Ovation (Simeon Sanegor x Halina Shaklan), who is an Australian National Champion Top Ten, however more importantly, she is my most precious girl.

Another significant foundation mare Cec and I had bought was Stilton Farm Egyptian Mirage (Stilton Farm Silver Shaklan x Egyptian Image). This mare gave us some beautiful daughters, including full sisters Quartz Hill Farm Luv In The Mist and Quartz Hill Farm Luv Me Too,

Quartz Hill Farm Luv in the Mist

both by Eastwinds Axplosion (Simeon Sa’ar x Amira Bint Esperanza).

The show ring highs with horses I actually bred, really started with Luv In The Mist, now deceased. In 1998 she was East Coast Reserve Champion Junior Filly, shown

by Ray, and that was his first huge moment with Arabian horses. From there the awards kept coming.

Quartz Hill Farm Luv Me Too was East Coast Res Champion Yearling Filly in 2002, and Australian National Top Ten in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Red Hot Luva, son of Luv In The Mist by Eastwinds Ovation, was Champion at the National Stud Horse Show 2002 and won the Mulawa Ambition Award. QHF Angels Kiss (Eastwinds Axplosion x Eastwinds Made in Heaven) was Victorian Classic Champion Yearling Filly under Lenita Perroy in 2003.

She has become a super broodmare.

More recently, Quartz Hill Farm Ooh La La (Om El Eminence imp USA x Quartz Hill Farm Puss in Boots) was East Coast Champion in 2011 and her full brother QHF Emotion, the only son of Quartz Hill Farm Puss in Boots, was East Coast Reserve Champion in 2013. Quartz Hill Farm Johara Shaklan exp USA (Eastwinds Ovation x Quartz Hill Farm Ruby Shaklan) was Top Five East Coast in 2009, 2010, 2014 and Top Ten Australian Championships 2009.

Probably one of the most magical of my memories in all these years was at the National Stud Horse Show in 2009. Quartz Hill Farm Johara Shaklan stood in line together with Quartz Hill Farm Ooh La La for Supreme of Show. There were two Mulawa horses, two Bremervale horses and my two Quartz Hill Farm girls…wow! It was one

QHF Emotion

Quartz Hill Farm Johara Shaklan

of my biggest moments ever, to have my small stud standing in line with two of the biggest, most successful studs in Australia for Supreme of the Show. Needless to say we were not awarded, but the thrill was the greatest. We were there!

Quartz Hill Farm Johara Shaklan continued on her winning way, becoming 2010 Australian National Reserve Champion Junior Filly, then 2013 National Stud Horse Show Champion under Koenraad Detailleur and 2013 National Capital Grand Champion Senior Exhibit under Christine Jamar.

She was then purchased by Mark Wharton and Quentin Naylor of Peregrine Bloodstock International in Kentucky and made the long journey to the United States of America.

As I write this she has just foaled a filly for them.

I have listed some major show results hoping they will be inspirational to many others,

Quartz Hill Farm Ooh La La

to breed, prepare and show their Arabian horses and live the dream. It can be done.

I must say I was surprised when I wrote them down – how many there were and what an exciting journey it had been.

Over the years I have also been blessed to be entrusted with the care of some significant and beautiful stallions. Eastwinds Axplosion (Simeon Sa’ar x Amira Bint Esperanza), Om El Eminence imp USA (Sanadik El Shaklan x Om El Bint Shaina) and Naazim (Mustafa x Naadirah). My friendship with Tanya Hawley, such a clever and gracious woman, resulted in T Nadji (Simeon Sa’ar x Nara) being leased to me and he left us with several lovely daughters.

In 2016 Quartz Hill Farm has reduced numbers to six purebred Arabian mares all with very strong pedigrees to El Shaklan.

These are Quartz Hill Farm Puss in Boots and her daughters, Quartz Hill Farm Ooh

QHF Dark Desire

La La and Quartz Hill Farm Georgia Peach (by American Hero imp USA). Completing the group Quartz Hill Farm Ruby Shaklan (Eastwinds Axplosion x Eastwinds Vienna Shaklan), mother of Quartz Hill Farm Johara Shaklan exp USA and Quartz Hill Farm Blessing (Om El Eminence x Eastwinds Made In Heaven.

Puss in Boots has also given me two Arabian derivative fillies, a buckskin filly

by Ray of Light named QHF Kit Kat and an unnamed, unweaned palomino filly by Roseglen White Knight. The decision to breed derivatives was a quick one, more or less a flight of fancy (some were heard to mutter that I had crossed to the dark side) but I have really enjoyed showing QHF Kit Kat and look forward to more fun times preparing and showing the palomino filly.

Having bred my two coloured derivatives I have got that out of my system and probably won’t continue down this path. My first and foremost love is purebreds.

I have stuck to my El Shaklan lines and bred this way without fear or favour, not following fad or fashion. I have found with my mares’ strong pedigrees I am able to consistently produce a type I love, and with these horses I have been fortunate enough to win at the highest levels over a decade or so, under

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judges who are world renowned breeders of beautiful horses.

That said, in 2008 I bred Quartz Hill Farm Puss in Boots to the beautiful black stallion American Hero imp USA (NV Beau Bay x Golden Silk) as an outcross to my intense Shaklan lines and was blessed to get a filly. I named her Quartz Hill Farm Georgia Peach.

Later, fortune smiled when Georgia foaled an amazing black filly to the lovely Crave FF, who is a grandson of Simeon Sanegor. The black colour was an added bonus… I hadn’t thought of that when I bred to him! This black filly grew up nicely and was named QHF Dark Desire. She was shown very successfully and didn’t let the team down. This was such a successful mating that I decided to repeat it and Georgia Peach returned to Crave FF. This time she has given me a gorgeous black colt (once again I didn’t dare dream of black, especially not twice in a row) who is every bit as exciting as his sister. He is not weaned and isn’t named yet, all in good time!!! You might say he is my ‘dark horse’.

There are three foals due this spring by Eastwinds Axplosion. He is now a grand old man of 24 years young and is living here at present…it’s a circle of life moment! Thank you to Les and Tom of Eastwinds Arabians.

Axplosion has bred Quartz Hill Farm Ooh La

La, Quartz Hill Farm Blessing and Quartz Hill Farm Puss in Boots, all of whom have been tested in foal and I can’t wait for these babies.

In the past, on two occasions, each for many years, Ray and I have been involved on the Committee of Arabian Riders and Breeders ACT & Southern NSW (Arabs Inc.) and worked hard to bring the Australian Arabian Championships to Canberra. I encourage others to get involved, get on committees, help at shows and to try new things such as Arabian racing. There is plenty to like about the Arabian industry and many good people.

Life has been a wonderful journey with my Arabian horses... you might say the fulfilment of a little girl’s dreams… so many years ago.

For the future, we hope to continue on as long as we can, enjoying our farm and our horses and all the friends we have made.

We are especially looking forward to following the progress of the Quartz Hill Farm horses who are competing very successfully in Endurance in Australia and overseas. Thank you to their owners, especially Martin Mizzi of Kalimnah Farm, for selecting our El Shaklan bred horses for this demanding sport.

Gleniph Arabians

Purebreds and Arabian Derivatives

Images by Samantha Taylor

OUR 2016 WINNING TEAM!

GLENIPH ALEXIAH

GLENIPH TIRAMISU

Purebred Mare (Crave FF x Eastwinds Axtreme) Champion Purebred Arabian 2016 East Coast Young Saddle Horse Ridden by Emily Rees

Part Arabian Filly (Crave FF x Gleniph Bombe Alaska) Winner of the Derivative Camelot Junior Challenge – 2016 East Coast Championships Ridden by Nikki Gibson

TOP QUALITY PUREBRED, ANGLO & PARTBREDS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE Kerry & Richard Chapman “Dellyvale”, Moorbys Lane Via Yass NSW, 2582

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Gleniph Arabians

by Kerry Chapman Gleniph Sovereign Mist

Arabian stallion and I think then and there we decided we would like one of those!

We came across a partbred yearling filly for sale, and knowing nothing at all about the breed nor showing, we purchased her and decided we would get our hands dirty and learn on the go. Her name was Caliph Stud Peace (Arabian Park Konig x Caliph Sophie) and she taught us many things, especially patience, but we had a ball showing her.

Upon visiting her sire’s owners, we fell more in love with the breed and purchased our first purebred mare, Glenallan Messya (Arabian Park Konig x Takari) who was in foal. We would take one of them to a show each weekend up until Messya was close to her foaling date. Before she foaled we thought we should apply for a stud name and be organised for breeding. We tried a few names and finally settled on Gleniph… a combination of our first two mares, ‘Glen’ (from Glenallan) and ‘iph’ (from Caliph).

Gleniph Tiramisu

S

ince the age of four I have been in love with horses and from that time dreamed of owning one of my own. Like many of us, this wasn’t practical for my parents so I learned to ride at various riding schools and went on riding camps every holidays until finally at the age of 14 my parents relented and allowed me to have my own horse. ‘Macbeth’ was of no particular breeding and he was kept at Leppington where I rode him every weekend.

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In time, I met a wonderful man named Richard who was not horsey at all. By the time we were married, Mac was getting on in age so we went on the hunt for somewhere to keep him that was able to care for him if we couldn’t get out every weekend. This search led us to a nice little stud farm in Werombi, and Mac was settled in there. Opposite his paddock was the most gorgeous horse we had ever seen, he would prance and snort and just look so pretty. We found out he was an

Our stud really began in 1983 when we purchased another purebred mare from Oasis Arabian Stud named Oasis Abygale (Abyad x Baari) and started to make decisions on which stallions to use over our mares. Our goals at that early stage were to learn more, study pedigrees and search for mares by stallions whose bloodlines we admired. We went to every show we could to watch and learn and visited just as many studs. Our greatest achievements with these first mares were their foals.

Messya produced our head stallion who is still with us today at 28 years old, Gleniph Royal Sovereign (by Simeon Sanegor).

She also produced Gleniph Royal Ember (by Bellrowen Fireglow) who was our first Australian Champion. Abygale produced many stars including full siblings Gleniph Debutante and Gleniph Chizaam (by Rose Park Chisim), both long term successful show horses and Gleniph Shakabi (by Espiration), our East Coast Champion and Australian Champion gelding and also a successful saddle horse later in his career.

Gleniph Sovrenity

We purchased our first colt early 1984, a weanling by The General (Bask x Wirginia imp/exp USA). A few months before, I had purchased a book on Polish Arabians and had fallen in love with a stallion named Naborr, so we went in search of a colt with those bloodlines, and who would complement our growing group of females.

Rose Park Chisim did exactly that, his progeny performed well and produced even better. His forte was breeding Anglo Arabians, and Gleniph Jasperanza, Gleniph Just One Look and Gleniph Twist N Shout were all Australian Champions in both halter and under saddle. Now his grandget are achieving the same. Gleniph Just One Kiss (Concherto FF x Gleniph Just One Look) is the 2016 East Coast and Australian Champion at three years old.

Rose Park Chisim

The year 1990 saw us acquire a share in BA Minstril Bay (The Minstril x AK Komeira), a lovely Straight Egyptian weanling colt imported from the USA. His daughters were renowned as broodmares, and we bred them from a small band of Straight Egyptian females including The Nile Rose (imp USA) also by The Minstril and out of Belbowrie Fayeka (Ramses Fayek x Anhar). Today, we own the Straight stallion Belbowrie Destiny (Belbowrie Obsidian x The Damask Rose) who is a particularly correct and athletic horse, breeding some lovely progeny.

We love our derivatives, and coloured part Arabians are certainly one of our passions.

The Palomino Part Arabian is a golden dream that captured my heart very early on and when Gleniph Royal Sovereign sired Gleniph Sovereign Mist (ex Hartley Valley Mystique), we had our first palomino show horse! She was Supreme at East Coast at two years old and many other awards over her lifetime, and her full brothers Gleniph Sovrenity and Gleniph Sovanity are multi Australian Champions. Sovanity has produced a huge dynasty of successful led and saddle horses for Tathren Stud and recently we were lucky enough to acquire his cremello daughter, Daitan Ooh La La. The cremello stallion Edenvale Artic Snow (Edenvale Golden Sega x Kim-Dande Carissa) was the next phase in our coloured breeding program. He produced the lovely palomino Gleniph Bombe Alaska who in turn produced our first buckskin Gleniph Tiramisu (by Crave FF) who is excelling under saddle as a three-year-old, winning hunter classes at Ag shows and recently she won the Camelot Challenge class at the 2016 East

Gleniph Royal Sovereign

Gleniph Jasperanza

Coast Championships. Both Sovereign Mist and Tiramisu won the Little Egypt Trophy at Sydney Nationals 20 years apart, which was a huge achievement for us as breeders.

We focus on breeding horses that exhibit true Arabian type while maintaining sound conformation with fantastic temperaments.

We acquired the young stallion Eastwinds Care To Dance (Eastwinds Abraxas x Eastwinds Dance With Me) to breed to some of our purebred and Thoroughbred mares. We are very passionate about breeding Anglo Arabians and our aim is to produce a beautiful quality horse that has the substance and conformation to be competitive in all fields of performance.

When we began, we both had office jobs in the Sydney CBD, lived in Campbelltown and commuted an hour each way each day to the city. Then we purchased five acres at Bargo, thus increasing our commuting time to over two hours each way each day, we didn’t see our horses in daylight until the weekends! Over a period of time the office jobs ceased and I was able to stay home and run the farm whilst Richard began working in the television side of the Racing industry. Ten years ago the opportunity to purchase the business presented itself and we have been operating that ever since.

We currently facilitate the outside television broadcasting of all NSW TAB racing fixtures in the south east and southern districts of NSW. With over 200 race meetings per year, this keeps us very busy!

In 2000 we moved to the Southern Tablelands, about 25km from the historic township of Yass. We purchased 213

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

47

Gleniph Alexiah (ridden by Emily Rees at the 2016 East Coast Championships)

acres in the form of a run down sheep property and have been building and constructing facilities ever since.

When we purchased the outside broadcast business we no longer had weekends free, and we couldn’t get horses to the shows anymore so we looked for an alternative.

We wanted a presence in the show ring, and we chose Future Farms. It has proven very successful for us but for me, I missed the horses, and the process of preparing them myself wasn’t quite the same.

Recently we decided to employ someone to help with the horses, do sale and show prep and ride at the shows. This is working out well, enabling us to take horses to shows from home and really enjoy it once again. Recently Gleniph Alexiah, ridden

by Emily Rees, won her Purebred Young Saddle Horse class at the 2016 East Coast Championships. For the first time in well over 15 years we took six horses from home to the 2016 East Coast. It was a little more difficult than I remembered, perhaps I’m getting too old, however I loved to see the horses being shown and I don’t regret it for a minute. I implore others to do the same, it was very rewarding.

Over the years there have been many horses that have had a significant impact on us.

Stallions such as El Shaklan (Shaker El Masri x Estopa), Simeon Sa’ar (El Shaklan x Damirah), Naborr (Negatiw x Lagodna), Simeon Sanegor (Simeon Sa’ar x Simeon Shirli) and Naasser (Mustafa x Naadirah)

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EW Antiophe

have all come from great, long-standing families which is something you used to see in breeding programs around the world. While artificial breeding practices have increased our ability to add new blood, we have also felt that this has led to a fragmentation in the family groups and types one used to see in the show ring.

We love our derivatives, and coloured part Arabians are certainly one of our passions.

I loved Sa’ar and his family. I spent a lot of time at Eastwinds, which is how I came across EW Antiophe. I loved her so much I vowed one day we would own her. We had bred to Simeon Sanegor and the result was a magnificent colt (Sovereign) so we wanted to repeat the mating, however it wasn’t possible that year so we looked at his sire, Simeon Sa’ar, then at Eastwinds. We fell in love with Sa’ar and decided to breed two mares to him…at one stage we had five of his daughters. They had the most wonderful natures and outlook on life, so easy to work with and always gave 100% when asked.

He sired some great stock out of a variety of mares, it was very easy to admire him.

The first time I saw Sanegor I nearly fainted,

Eastwinds Care To Dance

he was so different to what we had been seeing at shows and so very beautiful. He always announced his presence in the show ring and showed himself off to perfection.

I feel chills every time I see pictures of El Shaklan, something just said to us, ‘breed horses like that’! Often we can just flick through magazines or books and something jumps out at you that you can’t forget, so you search out horses of that line to see what they breed like. One of our first purebred mares was Santarabia Naaree

by Naasser. I was so excited to have a member of that family in our collection.

I adored Naadirah, Nile and Naasser…it was those eyes that drew me in. Naaree was an amazing broodmare and when we bred her to Sa’ar, she gave us a sensational filly, Gleniph Nassaari who was Top Ten at the Australian Championships.

Other major impacts at home have been Rose Park Chisim, EW Antiophe and Hartley Valley Mystique, and from the horses we have bred, Gleniph Jasperanza, Gleniph Shakabi, Gleniph Sovereign Mist and Gleniph Sovrenity to name just a few.

To breed such beautiful creatures is a privilege and our horses have enriched our lives so much. We feel loyalty to the breed is the key to the future, and we must be loyal to the Arabian horse itself. We must be careful to ensure that the Arabian horse retains its qualities of type, form and function and does not become something less than what makes it uniquely Arabian.

Where Dreams Become Reality

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Where Dreams Become Reality Future Farms Arabian Stud is situated in the picturesque Macedon Ranges, Victoria and offers the equestrian community state of the art facilities, top level education, and of course world class horses. Not just an internationally recognised training facility in the divisions of halter and performance, but fast becoming one of Australasia’s top breeding farms, consistently breeding high class individuals competing at the highest levels in Australia and abroad within disciplines of halter, performance and endurance.

Future Farms, run by dedicated and passionate horse people Doyle and Kate Dertell, offers friends and clients the opportunity to become involved with a family sport and hobby that is great fun and company with wonderful likeminded people. Showing the Arabian horse allows for great fun and travel, not only in Australia but frequent trips overseas with groups of clients and friends following the Arabian Horse.

The facilities at Future Farms are vast and include 45 indoor stables, 16 walk in walk out boxes, indoor arena, hot walker, round yard, post and rail day yards, outdoor show arena, and full indoor breeding lab. A large indoor entertaining area / viewing area is super for entertaining clients, showing of horses, open days and seminars.

Kate and Doyle Dertell

Pastures at Future Farms

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY:

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Clarissa FF winning with friends from around the world at the Las Vegas Arabian Breeders World Cup Standing a large group of stallions and breeding around 100 plus mares a year on the farm, we are always able to assist you with all your breeding needs or to find the right horse to suit you. Whether it be an entry level animal right up to something that can take on the world, Future Farms can find that horse for you. Our services do not stop there – we can look after you and your horse through education, training and future breeding decisions (including stallion semen freezing and embryo flushing).

The Training side of Future Farms has seen the farm go from strength to strength over the past 15 years, with every year the team of horses travelling across Australia to all major shows winning countless State, National, Royal, East Coast and Australian Championship honours in both halter and performance, with both purebred and derivative horses. Future Farms and their clients’ horses have also competed internationally with great success including Championship wins at Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show, the Las Vegas World Cup show, US National Championships, NZ National Championships and Qatar National Championships. The team of horses shown each year will compete in a variety of divisions including Halter, English, Western, Bridle Path Hack, Show Hunter, Harness, Side Saddle, Dressage and Costume.

Main Barn

Marketing is a huge aspect to the Arabian horse market, and Future Farms markets their stallions, training horses, sale horses and young stock both nationally and internationally. We are in a very easily accessible area for people to either drive to or fly in to visit and visitors are always welcome. Feel free to contact us at any time if you have any questions about the Arabian industry.

Future Farms – Where Dreams Become Reality!!

Jessica and Kody

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Where Dreams Become Reality

Breeding horses for all disciplines!

Endurance

Marketing

Our horses are successfully competing Nationally and Internationally

Promoting and marketing horses Nationally and Internationally for all disciplines. Let us help you find your next superstar!

Flat Racing Competing Nationally on the Australian Racing circuit

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Where Dreams Become Reality

Show Horses Future Farms horses are winning both Nationally and Internationally at the world’s biggest shows.

We show Halter and Performance divisions (with Performance also including Dressage and Jumping), and our horses suit all levels of riders from beginners to the top competitors.

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Where Dreams Become Reality

Crave FF Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Bay Purebred Arabian Stallion – SCID/CA/LFS clear

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Where Dreams Become Reality

State Champion Led and Ridden, Royal Champion Led and Ridden, National Champion Led Colt and Stallion, East Coast Champion Led Colt and Stallion, Australian Champion Led and Ridden Sire of Multi Supreme Championship winning Purebred and Arabian Derivative progeny Nationally and Internationally Bred and owned by Future Farms and available at stud at $2200

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Where Dreams Become Reality

Sir Charmed FF

Exp USA

SF Sir Real (USA) x Bremervale Char med

Brown Purebred Arabian Stallion – SCID/CA/LFS clear

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

A l S ahrae

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National Stud Show Champion Colt, Presidents Award - National Stud Show, National Capital Grand Champion Purebred, Australasian Breeders Cup Gold Champion Colt, Australasian Breeders Cup winner of Highest Scored Horse of show, East Coast Champion Colt, Scottsdale Reserve Champion 3yo Stallion, Las Vegas World Cup Reserve Champion 3yo Stallion, Region 15 Champion Stallion Owned by Al Sahrae Arabians and Future Farms and available via frozen semen at $2750

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Where Dreams Become Reality

Volcom FF C rav e F F x Beg u i n e O H ( i m p U SA )

Bay Purebred Arabian Stallion – SCID/CA/LFS clear

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

A l S ahrae

w w w . alsah raearabians. co m. au

National Capital Champion Colt, Victorian State Championships Supreme Champion Entire, National Reserve Champion Yearling Colt, East Coast Reserve Champion Yearling Colt, Australian Silver (Reserve) Champion Yearling Colt, Australasian Breeders Cup Silver Champion Colt 3 years and under Owned by the Volcom Partnership - Al Sahrae Arabians and Future Farms

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

A rmstrong A rabians

Spades LRA

Imp USA

D A Va l e n t i n o x S e r e n a t a E l J a m a a l

Black Purebred Arabian Stallion – SCID/CA/LFS clear

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

A l S ahrae

w w w . alsah raearabians. co m. au

SEDUCTRESS LRA

Scottsdale Champion, Regional Champion, 3rd US National Championships, State Champion Stallion, East Coast Champion Stallion, Bronze Australian National Champion Stallion Owned by Armstrong Arabians USA and on lease to Future Farms and Al Sahrae Arabians. Available at stud at $2200

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

BLESSED IN SPADES LRA

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Where Dreams Become Reality

Fearless FF S F S i r R ea l ( i m p / ex p U SA ) x D o u b l e T T Fev ia

Brown Arabian Warmblood / ISSA Stallion

Australian Champion Led Junior Arabian Warmblood Bred and owned by Future Farms.

Available at stud at $1650

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Where Dreams Become Reality

Fever FF C rav e F F x D o u b l e T T Fev ia

Black/Brown Arabian Warmblood / ISSA Stallion

State, Royal, National, East Coast and Australian National Champion winner Led and Ridden Sire of multi State, Royal, National, East Coast and Australian Champion progeny Bred and owned by Future Farms. Available at public stud at $1650

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

A shwood P erformance H orses

Keilshoop Honey Hill Imp NL Pa r t b re d A ra b ia n 1 4 . 2 h h D u tc h F E I p o n y

State, National, East Coast and Australian Championship ribbon winner, Sire of multi Championship winning progeny in Dressage, Jumping and Showing Owned by Ashwood Performance Horses.

Available at public stud at $2200 Contact: Allysse Smith - 0430 089 421 or allysse@ashwoodperformancehorses.com.au

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Where Dreams Become Reality

Concherto FF B u r r e n - D a h Th e Wi za r d ( ex p N Z ) x A l o h a S y m p h o n y

Brown Anglo Arabian Stallion State Supreme Champion Led and Ridden, Royal Champion Led and Ridden, National Supreme Champion Led and Ridden, National Capital Supreme Champion Led and Ridden, East Coast Champion Led and Ridden, Australian Champion Led and Ridden, Currently successfully competing in endurance with incredible heart rates Bred and owned by Future Farms.

Available at stud at $1320

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

A l S ahrae

w w w. alsah raearabians. co m. au

Audrey H JCA Imp USA

Victoria Moon MH Imp USA

Fa l c o n B H F x Vo n H e r t e O n l y O n e Embryo by Spades LRA (imp USA) In foal to Spades LRA (imp USA)

Ma a rau d er M H x S ha r mag n e In foal to Spades LRA (imp USA)

Eternal Versace USA Ve r s a c e x E t e r n a l L ov e T In foal to Sir Charmed FF

www.alsahraearabians.com.au Helen and Andy Hardwick | Contact Helen on 0402 883 536 | E: alsahraearabians@yahoo.com.au

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

A l S ahrae

w w w . alsah raearabians. co m. au

Burren-Dah Valentina Iimage iid USA

MC Sophiie USA

D A Va l e n t i n a x L o v e l y I i m a g e Embryo by Sir Charmed FF (exp USA) In foal to Spades LRA (imp USA)

A d o n i i s x S o n o ra R o s e Embryo to Sir Charmed FF

Simeon Sirena – For sale

MPA Jewely

MB Mayal x Simeon Sabaya In foal to Spades LRA (imp USA)

Ve r s a c e x G l i t z y Embryo to QR Marc (USA)

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

S eptember P ark S ue a n d Ra lp h O b erg

Hor ses oc casionally availab le for sale

Dreaming FF

Cracker Jack

S F S ir Rea l ( i m p / ex) x Re d d y To D rea m State, National and East Coast Champion

Burren-Dah True Blue x H oneysuckle Ro se Multi State, National, East Coast and Australian Champion

Fancy FF

Annastazia CSH

Kaspian CSH

Fever FF x Fantasy FF Multi Supreme Championship winner at her first show!

Keira Park Cascade x Booralie Kahlua Multi Championship winner

Keira Park Cascade x QHF Angels Kiss National, East Coast and Australian Championship winner

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

S eptember P ark S ue a n d Ra lp h O b erg

September Park Royal Ribbons

Eureka FF

R oy a lw ood Bo y So p ra n o x Ra th owe n R ed R uffles East Coast and Australian Championship ribbon winner

S tatus LL (imp) x Eter nal Starr Multi Championship winner from his first show!

Rathowen Red Ruffles

Girlfriend FF

Expressions FF

C ou r t la n d Boy -Bl u e (i m p ) x Ra t h ow e n Russe t National, East Coast and Australian Championship winner

C rave FF x Geasha Gir l FF State, Classic, National Capital, National and East Coast Supreme, Australian Champion

Crave FF x Eter nal Starr Multi State, National, East Coast and Australian Championship winner Led and Ridden

www.futurefarmsarabians.com

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | P: +61 3 5428 5255 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@futurefarmsarabians.com

Piaffe Breeches $119.95

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Junior Dressage Breeches $129.95

Fleur Breeches $179.95

Cross Country Breeches $159.95

Dressage Breeches $159.95

Show Rugs $89.95

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Hoods

from $79.95

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Purchase online at www.pwra.com.au For more information email admin@pwra.com.au or contact your local saddlery.

TOLL FREE: 1800 727 217 info@ranvet.com.au | www.ranvet.com.au

Breeding Champions for over 50 years Future Farms horses thrive on Ranvet products!

From the broodmare paddocks to the show barns, all our horses are shiny and healthy all year round!

Proudly Sponsored by Ranvet

Breed for Success

where beauty and function go hand in hand Cherox Hadla

Dahaak

Cherox Merlin

Cherox Jette

Merlin, Jette and Hadla will be standing at stud along with some younger black stallions by ARABIAN PARK EGYPTIAN MAGNETIC, DAHAAK and CHEROX SAWAD AMIR as well as HOT MOCHA, a spectacular black liver chestnut son of Merlin. We also have STOCK FOR SALE including a black stallion.

For sales, breeding & stud fees please contact Cheri Blackman (02) 4938 8118 cheri@cheroxarabians.com.au We are located in the Hunter Valley, two hours north of Sydney

photos by Nicole Emanuel

Mulawa Arabian Stud Guided by VISION, Driven by

AMBITION:

The Journey of a Lifetime

Photography by Stuart Vesty (unless otherwise noted)

Vision (Jamil x Euni by Bandos) 1980–2003

Ambition (Bask x Bint Ambara by Comet) 1972–1985

Imported as a foal with his dam from Germany, Vision served as Mulawa’s chief sire for eight seasons. His enduring influence is prevalent in the Mulawa Arabian over ten generations later. PC: Gigi Grasso

Mulawa’s ‘reason for being’ imported from the USA in 1977. The most important foundation sire, who singularly defined the unique look, disposition and versatile athleticism of the Mulawa Arabian.

V

ision and Ambition. First utilised in the Middle Ages, these two powerful words still evoke strong emotions and vivid imagery of prowess and ability, of action and determination, in our modern world.

Succinctly defined, vision: is the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom. Comparatively, ambition means: a strong desire and determination to achieve success.

To the international Arabian horse community, and especially to Australians, the words vision and ambition hold additional gravitas, as both were the namesakes most aptly bestowed on the original chief sires of Mulawa Arabian Stud.

The elder, Ambition, was a purposefully sought after foundation sire from North

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America, upon which the entire backbone of the program was built.

The younger, Vision, was an unexpected bonus from Europe, whose unique genetic heritage inspired the Farrells to seek outside their comfort zone for breeding stock, serving as a conduit for progress that allowed the program to mature. Over four decades later, the Mulawa program continues to thrive and evolve around the inherent quality and genetic integrity of both invaluable sires. While the strength and reliability of Ambition is continually used as a springboard for success, the commanding presence, aristocratic quality and regal refinement of Vision endures as the guidepost towards the future, as Mulawa remains committed to creating the ultimate beautiful athlete.

Today, the world over, horses bearing the MI breeder designation enjoy positive and respected brand name recognition across cultures. Throughout Europe, the Arabian Gulf and North America, Mulawa-bred Arabian ambassadors such as Klassical Dream MI, Valentino’s Angel MI, Kavalle MI, Impressa MI, Advantage MI, Always Valentine MI, Klassic Harmony MI, Vangelis MI and Prussia MI have been amassing an imposing list of accolades while redefining breed standards of excellence.

Closer to home, Mulawa has dominated the continental show ring over the last decade, shattering show ring records with six successive home-bred National Champion Senior Mares, twice dominating the female division at the Australian National Championships with the Yearling Filly, Junior Filly and Senior Mare victors, and

Klassical Presence MI (Klass x Parada by Magnum Forty Four) 2012

Advantage MI (Allegiance MI x Valentine MI by DA Valentino) 2012 The record-setting three-time successive Australian National Champion and Vision descendant Klassical Presence MI has redefined the standard of excellence for the Arabian mare continentwide, while poised and ready to raise the bar of the feminine ideal on the global stage.

celebrating major championships in both halter and performance with Mulawa-bred icons that are bringing recognition not only to the home stud, but an abundance of enjoyment and satisfaction to the rapidly expanding Mulawa community of owners, breeders, riders and handlers.

Now well into the fifth decade of expansion and achievement, the Mulawa Arabian Stud of modern day is still firmly grounded in the original purpose: to create world class Arabian athletes that represent the classic desert ideal, perfectly combining balance, versatility, beauty and utility. True to that purpose, and throughout the many changes, natural evolution and careful introduction, analysis and selection of influential bloodlines that are a part of every successful breeding venture, Mulawa continues to find success and inspiration with the blood of both Vision and Ambition, oftentimes in the most serendipitous of circumstances.

To appreciate the profound and persistent impact of Ambition and Vision on the Farrell Family’s journey with Mulawa Arabian Stud, knowledge of their origin and acquisition is essential. That journey begins over four decades ago, in rural Sydney, with the enthusiasm of a young boy and his dreams of owning an Arabian horse.

The Farrell Family’s involvement with the Arabian horse began with the determined interest of Greg Jr. It was Greg’s love of his purebred Arabian Casanova as a teenager that transpired into an allconsuming passion for the Arabian breed.

Recognising the absolute devotion of Greg Jr. to his purpose, parents Greg Sr.

Australian National Champion and Ambition descendant Advantage MI is still paving the way for the success of both his sire and his dam in the Mulawa breeding program as well as in the international show ring.

and Dolores worked together with Greg to establish the foundation of the Mulawa breeding herd in the early 1970s, first with quality mares of sound athletic structure and reputable pedigrees in Australia, and over the next few years, with mares obtained in the UK with a combination of Crabbet and Polish blend pedigrees.

When the search for broodmares of related bloodlines, particularly those of Polish influence, led both Greg Farrells to Lasma Arabian Stud, it was an enlightening dinner conversation with both Gene LaCroixes, father and son, that changed the direction of Mulawa for the better. While Greg Sr. was interested in primarily well-bred quality broodmares, Greg Jr. took to heart the suggestion from Dr. LaCroix that a breeding stallion, in particular a son of *Bask, might be a wiser long-term solution for the breeding

Mulawa remains committed to creating the ultimate beautiful athlete

program. To assist the Farrells in the decision making process, a formal presentation of breeding stock, including sale prospects as well as leading show horses and sires, was arranged during the visit, the first of its kind at Lasma for overseas clients.

The star-studded line-up included trendsetting National Champions Fame, Dancing Flame, Bask Melody, Hask and The

Judge, as well as a special presentation of the living legend himself: Bask.

The horse of principal interest on the sales list was a four-year-old son of the living legend: the powerfully athletic, classically aristocratic and especially long-necked Ambition (x Bint Ambara). With the added bonus of Comet as a maternal grandsire, a Polish stallion whose influence was already making a positive impact in the Mulawa program through his descendants imported from the United Kingdom, Ambition appeared both in pedigree and in phenotype the ideal step forward for the program. After much determined negotiation, a deal was reached between Lasma and Mulawa that left both Greg and his father greatly satisfied.

Ambition would indeed be departing for Australia to assume chief sire responsibilities at Mulawa Arabian Stud, and joining him would be the beautiful four-year-old Dzina.

Both American-bred Pure Polish aristocrats arrived on Australian soil in 1976, just in time to make a contribution to the breeding season the following year.

While technically the first Mulawa-bred horses foaled in the early 1970s, it was the introduction of Ambition, and the subsequent satisfaction with his progeny, that inspired young Greg and the Farrell Family with hope and aspiration, launching the Mulawa breeding program in earnest.

With Ambition fuelling the fire of the breeding program in the late 70s, the Farrells quickly assessed that more quality mares would need to be acquired to create the best possible outcome for their new chief sire. Searching both at home and abroad,

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Arrival (Ambition x Euni by Bandos) 1982–2003

Mulawa Chance (Ambition x Grojecca by Grojec) 1982–2015

Chance To Dance (Magnum Forty Four x Mulawa Chance by Ambition) 2004

Pure Polish successor to Ambition, Arrival’s impact still thrives through the progeny of his daughter Mulawa Aria and her grandson Allegiance MI. PC: Jenny Jerrard

The last of the Ambition daughters, Mulawa Chance founded one of the most important dam families in Australia. Her legacy of female descendants, seven generations strong, is most responsible for the enduring legacy of Ambition in the Mulawa program.

The closest living link to the legacy of Ambition in the breeding program as the last daughter of the much cherished Mulawa Chance, the disarmingly charismatic Chance To Dance has proven an extraordinary mate with Klass.

the Farrells discovered a regally bred beauty from Janow Podlaski, recently seen and recommended by fellow breeder and neighbour Marion Richmond of Simeon Stud while visiting Katharinenhof Stud in Germany. The mare was Euni (Bandos x Eunice by Comet), who most serendipitously happened to be purchased in foal to Hans Nagel’s Straight Egyptian sire Jamil (Madkour I x Hanan by Alaa El Din). Too advanced in her pregnancy to travel to Australia prior to delivery, Euni remained in quarantine in the UK to deliver her foal

by Jamil for Mulawa in June of 1980. Greg Farrell Jr., upon seeing both Euni and her foal for the first time in Australian quarantine, reported back to the family, ‘I am confident you will all be pleased. The mare is lovely… and the colt is mine.’ That colt over which Greg so emphatically claimed ownership would come to be known as Vision, a striking liver chestnut of overwhelming refinement and presence that would weave his own unique brand of excellence into the Mulawa Arabian standard alongside Ambition over the ensuing decades.

As positive as both Ambition’s origin was and his lasting influence has been, his history took an unfortunate turn for the worse just as he was hitting his stride as a sire of significance. Overcome by colic in March of 1985 at the unlucky age of 13, Ambition, despite Greg’s insistent instructions to both the staff and the veterinarians to ‘do whatever possible to save this horse’, was beyond

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surgical assistance when finally opened up after a nerve-wracking haul to Randwick.

Lost on a tumultuously stormy evening, Jane vividly recalls the life-changing incident with moving conviction – ‘it was as if the heavens themselves were protesting the loss’. Greg, unaware of Ambition’s loss when he arrived home after a hastily arranged return flight from Melbourne, was greeted by a heavyhearted and tearful Jane on the front veranda, shaking her head with sadness and disbelief.

With conviction and determination, Greg and Jane drove straight to the farm, and without saying a word, Greg walked directly to the stables, grabbed a head collar and lead, and made his way to the back of the property to fetch the rising three-year-old Arrival. A prophetically named look-alike son of Ambition who just so happened to be out of Vision’s dam Euni, the scruffy ungainly Arrival, whose resemblance at the time was much more ‘bush brumby’ than it was ‘chief sire’, was led to the stable directly adjacent to Ambition’s. With this symbolic purposeful gesture, Greg was reaffirming that the legacy of Ambition would indeed live on, and with Arrival, the next step of the Mulawa program would unfold, despite the profound loss of the program’s heart and soul.

Still revered as Mulawa’s ‘reason for being’ four decades after his arrival and thirtyone years after his tragic loss, Ambition is apparent in the very essence of daily life at Mulawa, as well as in the promise of every new foal crop each spring. Asked how

Ambition is still evident in the Mulawa Arabian of the 21st century, Greg, Julie and Jane all agree. ‘There is an expression and charisma that is uniquely Ambition. His best sons and daughters had that “look of eagles” and it is that look that still brings a smile to our faces when we see it in a descendant, no matter how many generations removed. Dryness of constitution, quality of skin and bone, short, strong, cleanly defined tendons, substance and strength, superlative conformation, and a natural, powerful athleticism are all traits that Ambition has gifted to the Mulawa Arabian. Perfect tail carriage and exceptional length of rein are two essential traits that we highly value in the horses we breed: both of these are apparent in all the Ambition descendants.’ Greg adds further, ‘His kind, intelligent and highly trainable disposition set the standard for what we expect in all our Arabians. It was from Ambition and his progeny that I learned all that I know about handling and training Arabian horses.’ For all the Farrells, Ambition ‘still epitomises the type of Arabian that Mulawa strives to create’.

Rather ironically, the Ambition descendants, especially his direct sons and daughters, have been blessed with abundantly long lives. The youngest of the Ambition get have moved on to greener pastures just in the last few years, including most recently, beloved aristocrat dam Mulawa Chance, at age 33. Not only was she the last of the Ambition daughters to remain in the Mulawa broodmare band and the foundress of her own dam line,

Makers Mark Fame Maker R (usa) x Karmaa (usa) | pictured with olivia pettendy Makers Mark does not stand at public stud but some stock by Makers Mark is available for purchase.

Ramadan Arabians KAREN HODGES | 0412 706 105 | (02) 6676 6372 | E: karenho@iprimus.com.au

Klassic Harmony MI (Klass x Fames Harmony by Fame Maker R) 2009

Fame Maker R (Fame VF x Inschallah El Shaklan by El Shaklan) 1989

The first member of the new generation to find a home overseas, Ambition-descendant Klassic Harmony MI is amongst the prized collection of broodmares at Al Shaqab Stud, the world’s largest Arabian breeding program, in Qatar.

Mulawa Chance was the last living icon of Mulawa’s humble beginnings, as a direct daughter of both a foundation mare and a foundation stallion introduced in the 1970s.

Not surprisingly, it is the prolific production of the Mulawa Chance family that has been most responsible for the retention of the distinctive ‘Ambition look’ within the modern Mulawa Arabian. Reflecting back across the last three decades, the productive history of Mulawa Chance and her most valuable daughters reads like a chronicle of the Mulawa breeding program itself, with nearly every foreign-bred and home-bred sire utilised in the program represented in an unbroken line of seven generations of success and counting.

The most valuable of her daughters has thus far proven to be East Coast Champion Perfect Harmony. Crossed with Fame Maker R for all six of her lifetime foals, Perfect Harmony hit the jackpot with three daughters: Mulawa Claim To Fame – granddam to Australian National Champion Echos Of Tomorrow; twice East Coast Champion Mystic Fame – dam of Australian National Champions Mystere MI and Master Klass MI; and twice Australian National Reserve Champion Fames Harmony, the most look-alike daughter of her universally acclaimed sire, and blessed with his unparalleled show ring charisma. Not only did she prove a sensational show mare, Fames Harmony has since proven to be both the most valuable Fame Maker R daughter and

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US and Canadian National Champion Futurity Colt prior to importation, Australian National Champion Fame Maker R earned a reputation as the most unforgettable show horse of his generation. His siring prowess was proven with the females descendants of both Ambition and Vision. The ‘R’ in his name refers to Gene Reichardt, universally respected horseman and long-time family friend of the Farrells who was responsible for breeding Fame Maker, recommending both GLF Apollo and Magnum Forty Four as sires, and for discovering three important mares – Rimaraa, Principessa CCA and W Alegria – that have all established new dam families of importance in the last decade at Mulawa.

female descendant of the Mulawa Chance dam family, with three champions and six daughters of merit to her credit and counting.

Fames Harmony was amongst the first of the Mulawa mares to be mated to the home-bred Klass, prior to his record setting run as three-time successive Australian National Champion. The result was Klassic Harmony MI, the first Mulawa-bred show horse of the new millennium to find a home overseas with Al Shaqab Stud, Qatar. Thus it was the consummate blend of both the ‘old’ and ‘new’ elements of the breeding program that would pave the way for a significant Mulawa presence within the global arena, the result of which continues to bring the Mulawa brand unprecedented recognition, influence and success.

specifically to the States to purchase Fame Maker R, the Farrells deferred to fellow Australian David Westbrook at auction time. Most serendipitously, this opened the door for TS Al Malik, discovered on a sales visit to Midwest Training Centre. A most unexpected find, TS Al Malik epitomised everything for which the Farrells were looking as the next step for the Mulawa Arabian. Demonstrating remarkable

Klass (TS Al Malik x Karmaa

by Kaborr) 2003

Interweaving the Klass story with the Ambition legacy is not only logical, but essential, as Klass has not only proven a predictable and prepotent cross with the Ambition descendants, but, in nearly a half-century of impassioned commitment to the breed, no other horse has come closer to filling the shoes and bearing the standard that were rightfully Ambition’s within the Mulawa program than has Klass. To count him amongst a long list of achievements as breeders, brings immense pride to the entire Farrell Family.

Klass’ Brazilian-bred sire TS Al Malik was discovered in the mid 1990s on a stallion hunting trip to Scottsdale. Having gone

Mulawa-bred super sire, record-setting show horse and Australian WAHO Horse of the Year, international Arabian ambassador Klass has proven to be the most important chief sire in the breeding program since Ambition. His daughters, both at home and abroad, are raising the prestige of the Mulawa program to unprecedented new heights.

TS Al Malik (Hello Barich ELS x BF Tiffany Select by BF Rageymazon) 1992

Karmaa with Karmia (Kaborr x AN Marieta by AN Malik) 1986–2015

Brazilian National Champion TS Al Malik has contributed size, strength and substance, added length of leg, an ideal shoulder, forehand and hindquarter, exemplary length and shape of neck, tremendous power and charisma, and superlative structure to the Mulawa program as chief sire, blending particularly well with both the blood of Ambition and Vision.

conviction as breeders, the Farrells took an enormous gamble with TS Al Malik as chief sire, a gamble which has since been positively paid back in spades. His Mulawa-bred daughters have proven to be invaluable broodmares, the best of which have been produced in combination with Vision-bred females and daughters of Fame Maker R, the latter group made possible by yet another fortunate twist of fate, which eventually found both US imports in residence at Mulawa as chief sires under Farrell Family ownership.

Beyond Klass, the other TS Al Malik son of significance has been twice East Coast Champion Parkview Audacious (x Aliha Bint Nizr by Anaza El Nizr), who proved to cross particularly well with the daughters of Vision. The combination of Parkview Audacious with the blood of both Ambition and Karmaa has proven equally successful, especially in the form of Mulawa-bred chief sire Allegiance MI. With the premature loss of Ambition, Arrival assumed chief sire responsibilities in his sire’s stead at just three years of age. For the next seven years, both sons of Euni – Arrival and Vision – would reign at Mulawa as the stallions of greatest importance, and during this period, bless the breeding herd with their most significant and enduring influences. With a lifetime total of 39 foals, it took just one of Arrival’s 13 purebred daughters to ensure his legacy would endure in abundance.

Pictured with her first foal Karmia (1992) by Vision. The ‘Queen of Mulawa’ and foundress of the most important dam family at her maternal stud. In the last quarter century, more than fifty direct female Karmaa descendants have blessed breeding programs throughout Australia, with nearly thirty of those females still retained by Mulawa. PC: Budden-Edwards

That daughter was Mulawa Aria, the second foal out of the recently imported Karmaa, a mare who was just beginning to establish what would become the most important female dynasty at Mulawa.

Sharing a common Scottsdale origin with TS Al Malik and Fame Maker R, a young yet-to-blossom three-year-old Karmaa was discovered by a belated honeymooning Greg and Julie in early 1989 as an underrated attraction in the annual Tom Chauncey Classic auction. When a dinner conversation with closest friends Harry and Sue Cooper delightfully revealed that all four were in agreement that Karmaa would be a vital addition to the progression of the Mulawa breeding program, Greg and Julie persisted on auction night until Karmaa passed into Farrell Family ownership at the final fall of the gavel. Expectations were incredibly high for Karmaa as both a show horse and especially as a broodmare, the results of which were an unprecedented career as the foundress of her own unique dam family and immortal status as the ‘Queen of Mulawa’.

It is her influence through Mulawa Aria, however, a combination that reinforces most succinctly the earliest success of and foundation upon which the Mulawa program is built with both Ambition and Euni, that has breathed new life into Mulawa in the past five years. Through her Parkview Audacious daughter Audacia, an East Coast Champion and Aristocrat Dam of five

champions, the legacy of Karmaa and Mulawa Aria is thriving as a direct result of the siring ability of Allegiance MI. Celebrated at birth with great fanfare as one of the best sons of Magnum Forty Four, Allegiance MI looked to be the ideal prospect from the new generation to showcase the Mulawa breeding program on the international stage. An extraordinarily charismatic colt, Allegiance made an indelible impression under the international scoring system at the National Stud Show as unanimous Champion Yearling Colt. It was very soon after that fate stepped in to deal what at first appeared to be a devastating setback, that now viewed in retrospect, turned out to be one of the most fortuitous and inspiring events in Mulawa history.

On New Year’s Eve, news reached the Farrells that ‘one of the yearling colts has badly injured his leg’ during a routine morning turn-out. Jane remembers thinking pleadingly ‘please don’t let it be Allegiance’, only to discover moments later that her worst fears had come true, and not only had Allegiance injured his leg, he had shattered his left hock. After veterinary evaluation, the prognosis looked very grim for successful healing of the joint, not to mention less long-term soundness and mobility for Allegiance. Staunch believers in the policy that every horse with the will to live will be given the chance to survive, the Farrells made preparations for Allegiance to convalesce and heal at

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Allegiance MI (Magnum Forty Four x Audacia

by Parkview Audacious) 2009

Mulawa Aria (Arrival x Karmaa by Kaborr) 1993–2012

The main male progenitor of the Ambition-Arrival legacy within the Mulawa program, intrepid survivor Allegiance MI is proving to be an extraordinary sire, especially when mated with daughters of TS Al Malik and Klass, as well as with nearly every new mare introduced into the program in the last decade.

A classic combination of both sire and dam, Mulawa Aria was blessed with a distinctive ‘old Polish’ phenotype, a rich flea-bitten grey with an unmistakably feminine allure, with soft, dark, all-knowing eyes, exceptional length, shape and slenderness of neck, broody capacity, sturdy structure and powerful, purposeful athleticism, all of which she faithfully passed on to her descendants.

Mulawa, both of which this intrepid soul did with astounding speed and resolution.

Greg accounts the composed sensibility and unyielding optimism of Allegiance during the healing process directly to Ambition, whose get were renowned for their intelligence, trainability and tenacity.

Once fully recovered, the decision was made to give Allegiance more room to enjoy the life for which he had so valiantly fought by sending him back to his birthplace in Alabama. With ample room to bounce around daily in his own paddock, Allegiance has not only fully healed from his nearly life-ending injury with minor scarring, he shows no visible signs of lameness, nor any joint degeneration on his limbs.

As inspiring as his miraculous story of recovery is, his subsequent success as a sire as the standard bearer for his late sire Magnum Forty Four, as well as for the enduring legacy of Ambition, Euni and Arrival, make the presence of Allegiance MI, a prodigious gift for which the Farrell Family, and everyone on Team Mulawa, are immeasurably grateful.

As a result of his consistent siring success, Jane has adopted a new breeding mantra – ‘breed her to Allegiance!’ – for any mare that has performed below expectations with the other sires used in the Mulawa program. So successful has Allegiance been in siring quality foals from the broadest cross section of the Mulawa broodmare band, even those closely related to him, that he now most deservedly shares Mulawa chief sire status alongside Klass. Without fail, Allegiance has sired quality foals with all of the recently imported mares to which he has been bred, playing a pivotal role in

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assisting each in establishing new dam lines of importance and influence at Mulawa in the last decade. The greatest testament to the siring prowess of Allegiance MI thus far has been the foals out of Valentine MI (DA Valentino x HL Infactuation by LF Fifth Avenue), exemplified in: Advantage MI; the reigning East Coast and Australian National Gold Champion Yearling Filly Venecia MI; and, from the most recent foal crop, the long necked, effervescent beauty Venice MI. While most breeding programs with over four decades of breeding success have struggled to reinvent themselves to keep genetic variation at a maximum, while maintaining both a quality Arabian true the fundamental ideal yet pertinently relevant to the demands of the modern marketplace and competitive international arena, Mulawa has not only risen to the challenge of adaptation, but carefully orchestrated a seamless evolution into its fifth decade of relevance by infusing new bloodlines both through sire and dam lines, and consistently finding extraordinary success with their home-bred stallions. With the younger generation of sires – Allegiance MI and Kavalle MI (Gazal Al Shaqab x Karess by Magnum Forty Four) proving to both cross exceptionally well with the daughters of Klass, we can expect more of the world to soon discover what every foreign visitor to Mulawa has thus far confirmed: ‘the best foals are without question by the Mulawa sires.’

The banner carrier for the Klass daughters as broodmares is MI Klassic Fantasy, an emerging matron of merit who has most recently produced an exceptional colt by Allegiance MI to follow up on her NSW State Champion daughter Fantasia MI by Kavalle

MI. Her story brings us back to the success of Klass as a sire, and the phenomenon of her dam Mustang’s Magnum. From record breaking yearling filly in the show ring as the first undefeated National Stud Show, East Coast and Australian National Champion, Mustang’s Magnum has since earned premier status in the Mulawa broodmare band as an Aristocrat dam of six champions, all Australian National winners. The golden cross for Mustang’s Magnum has been with Klass, with whom she has produced five of her ten lifetime foals thus far.

The eldest of these is Klassical Dream MI, who amassed an impressive show record at home as Australian National Champion Junior Filly and Senior Mare as well as four-

Venecia MI (Allegiance MI x Valentine MI by DA Valentino) 2014 A superstar in the making, reigning Australian National Champion Yearling Filly Venecia MI represents all the best of classic Mulawa – Ambition, Euni, Arrival, Karmaa, TS Al Malik and Magnum Forty Four – in perfect combination with the best genetics from overseas, namely DA Valentino and the legendary TJS Georgie Girl.

kelaray

East Coast Reserve Champion Filly

(imp NZ) (Gazal Al Shaqab x Miracle of Love)

3 x Australian Championships Top 10 Filly Supreme Female Victorian Championships prepared and shown by jh show training

P: (64) 9408 7935 | E: info@kelaray.com 280A Heath Rd, Waiharara, Kaitaia, New Zealand www.kelaray.com

Mustang’s Magnum (Magnum Forty Four x Sahtarah by Sahjat) 2005

time East Coast Champion in every age division. Prior to both her final senior mare victories on home soil in 2014, Klassical Dream MI was purchased by Al Khalediah Stables, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for whom she has since earned titles on an astounding five continents, most importantly as All Mediterranean & Arab Countries Gold Champion Senior Mare and Best in Show Female in Menton, and twice World Champion Top Ten Mare in Paris. The latest female model of Klass x Mustang’s Magnum golden cross, Klassical Jewel MI, was born this past January, and gives every indication that she is of the same world-class quality as her elder sisters. To the great satisfaction of Greg, Julie and Jane, Mustang’s Magnum has also blessed the breeding program with two superlative sons by Klass: the yearling Kommand MI, very reminiscent of a male version of Klassical Dream MI at the same age; and MI Klassique, the most extreme of all the ‘Maggie’ foals born to date with tremendous size and scope, huge black eyes, an imposing upright carriage, and a sensational show attitude.

Not only has Mustang’s Magnum proven to be the best breeding female from amongst the new dam lines introduced into the Mulawa program in the last decade, she has proven to be the best broodmare of any age in the entire broodmare band, establishing her rightful ascendancy as one of the best producing mares in Australian Arabian breed history. She is the poster child for everything virtuous the Mulawa breeding program has come to expect from the daughters of Magnum Forty

Four, a collection of esteemed matrons that have earned their place as the heart and soul of the Mulawa breeding program, outproducing any group of mares by any previous Mulawa chief sire with remarkable consistency and compelling quality.

Something the best of all the Magnum Forty Four daughters have in common is their ability to cross well with Klass, a fortunate circumstance that has earned the vast majority of these matings the title of ‘Golden Cross’. The indomitable Chance To Dance, a personal favourite of Jane’s and every single international visitor to Mulawa, has produced two superb fillies by Klass. The younger, Klassical Enchantment MI, born in October 2014, is considered the best filly of her foal crop. Team Mulawa is waiting patiently for this latent beauty to blossom into her full potential, attributes for which the Ambition get and Mulawa Chance family are well known.

Both of the Magnum Forty Four daughters honoured as Australian National Champion Senior Mare, Mulawa Aspiring and Parada, have proven marvellous mates for Klass.

Both mares are out of daughters of USimport GLF Apollo (Diamond Padron x Per-Brio by Percussion), the first Mulawa chief sire of Padron descent and, more importantly, the first stallion from the new generation of imported sires to move the program forward into the modern era.

Building on the solid breeding foundation created with Ambition, Vision and Arrival, as well as with the US-bred Warranty (Aladdinn

Kavalle MI (Gazal Al Shaqab x Karess by Magnum Forty Four) 2011

His get are proving the wisdom that breeding daughters of Mulawa-bred sires with other Mulawa-bred sires can reap great rewards. A United States and Canadian National Reserve Champion, as well as a back-to-back Scottsdale class winner, unanimous Australian National Champion Kavalle MI is considered one of the leading sons of his legendary sire.

Bred by Kay and Phil Edward, ‘Maggie’ has held the highest place of honour within the Mulawa broodmare band, producing ten foals of merit in seven years of production, earning Aristocrat Dam status in the process with six champions to her credit and a perfect record of ten world-class quality foals. Amongst these are Maximilliano (by Guiliano), the first stallion in the history of the Australian National Championships to win all three titles as National Champion Yearling Colt, National Champion Junior Colt and National Champion Senior Stallion, Fames Phantom MI (by Fame Maker R), twice East Coast Cup Champion Purebred and three-time successive Australian National Champion Ridden Arabian Gelding, and her superlative ‘Golden Cross’ foals with Klass: Klassical Dream MI, MI Klassic Fantasy, Kommand MI, Klassical Jewel MI and MI Klassique.

Klassical Dream MI (Klass x Mustang’s Magnum

by Magnum Forty Four) 2008

The international standard bearer for Mulawa, as well for both her sire Klass and dam Mustang’s Magnum, Klassical Dream MI is one of the most successful Arabian show mares in the world with championships earned on five continents at the most prestigious shows for owner HRH Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Prussia MI (ABHA Qatar x Parada by Magnum Forty Four) 2012

Proving further the success of utilising frozen semen from foreign-bred sires, Prussia MI carries the banner for foundation ancestors Vision and Dzina onto the international stage as a multi-international champion in North America, Europe and the Arabian Gulf for HRH Prince Abdullah bin Fahad Al Saud of Al Mohamadia Stud, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

GLF Apollo (Diamond Padron x Per-Brio by Percussion) 1990

The first import of the ‘new generation’ of Mulawa chief sires, GLF Apollo not only introduced the blood of Padron into the program for the first time, but proved the wisdom of blending Russian and Egyptian blood with the strong Polish-Crabbet foundation.

x Wizja by El Paso), a powerhouse of a stallion leased from Lasma to fill the void left by the premature death of Ambition, the daughters of GLF Apollo gained the greatest acclaim with their subsequent daughters by Fame Maker R, TS Al Malik, and especially Magnum Forty Four. Bold big-moving Mulawa Aspiring, who, not surprisingly, boasts a pedigree with strong influences from both Ambition and Warranty, has hit the jackpot with her last two fillies

by Klass: the yearling Klassical Aspiration MI, and the ultra exotic weanling, Klassically Adored MI. Parada, affectionately known as ‘Australia’s Sweetheart’, has bested her enviable show record with an even more inspiring record as an Aristocrat Dam, with five champion produce, amongst whom is international sensation Prussia MI (by ABHA Qatar). Two of Parada’s best are not surprisingly by Klass: Australian National Champion Yearling Gelding Kane MI, and the spectacular Klassical Presence MI, the reigning unanimous Australian National Gold Champion Senior Mare and the first ever purebred Arabian to be named three-time successive Australian National Champion in the halter arena.

The namesake of Klassical Presence MI brings us back to the story of Vision, and his indelible contribution to the Mulawa breeding program through a score of elegant daughters. One of his earliest was Prevue, a daughter of original foundation mare Dzina, whose GLF Apollo daughter Presence earned Aristocrat Dam status with her perfect production record of seven champions prior to her premature loss. Both of her treasured daughters, Parada and Forever Fame (by Fame

Parada (Magnum Forty Four x Presence

by GLF Apollo) 2007

A Vision and Dzina great-granddaughter, Parada has progressed from ‘Australia’s Sweetheart’ in the show ring as dual Australian and East Coast Champion to an Aristocrat Dam of five champions, and one of the most beloved mares in residence at Mulawa.

Maker R), are prized members of the Mulawa broodmare band, extending Presence’s legacy, as well as that of Vision’s, through their dazzling daughters.

Referenced earlier, the Vision daughter Perception (x LM Magics Gift by Aladdinn), herself an East Coast Champion and Australian National Reserve Champion, proved to be a reliable mate with Parkview Audacious, producing two valuable daughters – Australian National Reserve Champions Mulawa Alexa and Mulawa Anastazia – as well as multi-Australian National Champion Mulawa Vivacious, one of the most accomplished purebred performance geldings in the country. The best of the Vision attributes – remarkably fine vascular skin, large dark eyes, well shaped refined ears, phenomenal length of rein, elegant shape and elasticity through the throat, exuberant tail carriage, and a charismatic commanding presence – now grace the show rings of North America in the form of Perception’s granddaughter: Scottsdale International Gold Champion Senior Mare Impressa MI. Yet it is the combination of Vision with Dzina, with the added bonus of Ambition, that has proven to have the most consistent influence in the Mulawa breeding program, while simultaneously producing the most impressive results in the show ring, both at home and abroad.

This most successful story of the Vision legacy is attributed to M Angelique, foundress of an indispensable dam family of extraordinary merit. The greatest and most notable legion of these ‘Angels’ descend through M Angelique’s firstborn,

Magnum Forty Four (Magnum Psyche x WH Nashahna

by Bey Shah) 1998–2013

Through the daughters of the late Magnum Forty Four, leading sire at the Australian National Championships a record five times, the Mulawa breeding program has been blessed with exceptional quality of skin and coat, feminine refinement, huge luminous eyes, a long lean well-shaped and well-placed neck, harmonious balance, a strong well-coupled topline, broody capaciousness, an intelligent trainable disposition and an affinity to excel in the show ring.

M Angelique (Vision x Abanda by Banderol) 1986–2009

Always Valentine MI (DA Valentino x Always an Angel by SK Shakla Khan) 2009

The most prolific daughter of Vision and one of Greg’s alltime favourite mares. She is the source of the entire ‘Angel’ dynasty of Mulawa-bred champions and accomplished versatile athletes, including the similarly-themed ‘Wings’ family branch and ‘Fire’-related National Champions and Arabian Ambassadors. PC: Howard Paton

The first of the Mulawa ‘New Generation’ to find success overseas, pictured here winning the title of Scottsdale Classic Reserve Champion Junior Filly, her first major title in North America at 18 months of age. PC: Osteen-Schatzberg

East Coast Champion Mulawa Angelica, produced by utilising the ‘pure Mulawa’ pedigree of Wanted KE. The best son of Australian National Champion Warranty, Wanted KE was perhaps more importantly a son of Feature, an alluring daughter of Vision out of Mulawa Fantasy, the dream combination of soul mates Ambition and Dzina. Weaving together all of the elements of Mulawa’s strong Polish foundation, Wanted KE added superlative structure and complementary powerful athleticism to Angelique’s elegance, refinement and beauty, resulting in a mare that to present day, at age 24, still boasts one of the most remarkably correct skeletons in the entire herd with the youthful presence of mares a third her age. Upholding the family tradition of producing more fillies than colts, Mulawa Angelica needed only to produce her first foal, Angel Of Fame (by Fame Maker R), to secure her legacy and place of importance not only at Mulawa, but within the Arabian breed worldwide.

After a brief show career during which Angel Of Fame was rewarded with the title of East Coast Reserve Champion, the decision was made to look outside the Mulawa program for her first foal.

Julie was keen to use SK Shakla Khan (Sanadik El Shaklan x Sun King Raindrop

by Hilglor Rainmaker), an Australian National Reserve Champion owned

by Fairview Arabians that was widely recognised as one of the leading sires in the country. The combination resulted

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in a spunky nearly unmarked filly of exceptional feminine elegance and selfassured presence, most ingeniously named Always An Angel in honour of her distaff roots. Upon completion of a successful show career, Always An Angel assumed her rightful place alongside three generations of her predecessors in the Mulawa broodmare band, where she would discover her destiny as a mare of supreme value and importance.

Every breeder dreams of discovering those extraordinary nicks, that virtuous combination of genetics between sire and dam that produces, with remarkable reliability, world-class quality foals year after year after year without fail. The Farrells have been fortunate to discover several within their own herd over the past four decades: Karmaa with TS Al Malik, Perfect Harmony with Fame Maker, Mustang’s Magnum and Parada with Klass, and Valentine MI with Allegiance MI. Yet no other mare has thus far proven more of a success with frozen semen from a foreignbred sire than Always An Angel, who has incontrovertibly found her perfect match with DA Valentino (Versace x DA Love by Padrons Psyche). The first reward of this cross was the fancy bay Always Valentine MI, born late September 2009. Catching the eye of Andrew Sellman on his annual visit to Mulawa, Always Valentine embarked on a North American tour under Mulawa ownership beginning with Scottsdale in February 2011. Showing as a junior two year

old as a result of her September birthdate, Always Valentine emerged triumphant with a first place win in her qualifying class and the title of Scottsdale Classic Reserve Champion Junior Filly amongst the toughest competition on the planet. Usually reluctant to crowd into a win shot, the Farrells were delighted on this occasion to snuggle up, all smiles, with Always Valentine in the winners circle, an opportunity, unknown at the time, that would present itself with gratifying regularity to the present day.

This was the first foray with Mulawa-bred horses of the newest generation on the international stage, and to find success at Scottsdale with a seventh-generation Mulawa-bred foal was exactly the outcome intended to showcase the breadth and depth of the program to the world.

Given the satisfaction with Always Valentine, the mating was repeated, resulting in a flaxen-maned pixie of a filly named Valentino’s Angel MI born in 2011.

With Always Valentine still overseas, the decision was made to campaign Valentino’s Angel at home, the result of which was an undefeated show season as National Stud Show, East Coast, and unanimous Australian National Champion Yearling Filly. Soon after, Valentino’s Angel was seen by Dr. Bruce McCrea, manager of Al Mohamadia Stud, who was already enjoying Gold Champion success with the ownership of Mulawa-bred Prussia MI in the United States. Purchased just days later, Valentino’s Angel was immediately

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Valentino’s Angel MI (DA Valentino x Always an Angel by SK Shakla Khan) 2011

prepped for Europe’s toughest and most important competition, the All Nations Cup in Aachen, Germany. With Tom Schoukens at the lead, Valentino’s Angel not only won her qualifying class for two-year-old fillies, she was awarded the highest score from amongst all the junior filly entries, a miraculous success for an unknown filly amidst a field of seasoned competitors. She returned on Sunday, with brother Glenn at the lead, to claim the title of All Nations Cup Bronze Champion Junior Filly, an accolade that would propel her to an illustrious career of enviable international success at the highest level.

Not one to settle easily with a foal at foot, Always An Angel was confirmed back in foal with an ever-dwindling supply of DA Valentino frozen semen early in the breeding season in 2012, the result of which was her first colt in late August.

Named Vangelis MI, this commanding liver chestnut colt appeared to be one of the most look-alike sons of his immortal sire, while still possessing in abundance the unmistakable refinement, aristocratic quality and trademark ‘living bronze’ coat colour of his esteemed ancestor, Vision.

The debut of Vangelis in the show ring coincided with the return of older sister Always Valentine MI to the spotlight, this time on home soil, after returning from North America a US Reserve National Champion. While Always Valentine began her campaign in September 2014 as NSW State Titles Champion Senior Mare, Vangelis joined her as an essential member of the Mulawa show team for the remainder of the season, an unprecedented occurrence which found them both winning the Yearling Colt and Senior Mare Championships, respectively, at the National Stud Show, East Coast Championships and at the Australian National Championships in March 2015 by unanimous decision. With these final wins, Always An Angel earned the distinction of becoming the first mare ever in breed history to produce three unanimous Australian National Champions, a distinction Mulawa hopes to improve with her next superstar foal by DA Valentino.

Soon after earning the high score of the show at the Australasian Breeders Cup, and the title of Gold Champion Junior Colt, Vangelis MI boarded a plane for North America, bound for fame and fortune overseas with Andrew Sellman

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once again at the lead of yet another full sibling. This time the venue was the Scottsdale International Breeders Classic Championships, where Vangelis earned highest score honours once again, this time amongst all the junior colt entries, and the prestigious honour of Gold Champion Junior Colt by the unanimous consent of five judges. As fate would have it, the Farrell Family present at Scottsdale was more than double in size from its usual contingent, with Greg and Jane’s eldest sister Julia in attendance, as well as both of Greg and Julie’s grown children, Gregory James and Katharine.

This fortuitous coincidence made for one of the most treasured and memorable win shots in Mulawa’s five long decades of dedicated commitment and passionate involvement with the Arabian horse.

With the 2016–17 foaling season just around the corner, the Farrell Family is expecting, most astoundingly, the program’s first 15th-generation foal, with a ninegeneration contribution from dam Kache MI (Konfidence MI x Fames Harmony) and five generations from sire Advantage MI (Allegiance MI x Valentine MI). Within the pedigree of this highly anticipated foal, links to both of the most important Ambition descendants, Arrival and Mulawa Chance, can be found, evidence of the enduring importance of Mulawa’s ‘reason for being’ multiple generations and nearly

One of the most successful DA Valentino daughters in the international show ring, she is an Australian, United States and Canadian National Champion, as well as World Cup and US Arabian Open Gold Champion, campaigning with reliable flamboyance and flair for Al Mohamadia Stud.

half a century later. Superstar doubleVision descendant Always Valentine MI is expecting a foal by Arrival-Ambition banner carrier Allegiance MI in early August, her first foal since her record setting return to the Australian show ring. Combining both essential influences of Vision and Ambition multiple times, this 13th-generation Mulawa-bred foal will undoubtedly prove that the guidance and motivation that both foundation sires have so faithfully provided to Mulawa through the last five decades, will continue to serve as the source of both inspiration and aspiration for many generations yet to come.

Vangelis MI (DA Valentino x Always An Angel

by SK Shakla Khan) 2013

Very reminiscent of his double-predecessor Vision, Vangelis MI followed up an undefeated career in Australia with a prestigious victory as Scottsdale International Breeders Classic Champion Junior Colt by unanimous decision. It was a special moment for the Farrell Family, as three siblings, as well as Greg and Julie’s entire family, were present to celebrate. PC: Osteen-Schatzberg

Sabtah Nassor

Story & Photography by Terry Hardcastle of Salam Arabians

Sabtah Nassor (Desperado x Clifton Park Nefisa)

I

remember the day clearly – our June 1997 Arabian Horse News magazine had just arrived in the mail and as my mother was browsing through it, an advertisement stopped her in her tracks! It showed the most exquisite headed colt foal, and his name, Sabtah Nassor.

He was part of the second foal crop sired

by Desperado, a young stallion by WN Dasjmir who was fast becoming a show and breeding sensation in Australia.

The dam of this colt was Clifton Park Nefisa, a beautiful daughter of the celebrated National Champion stallion Nile (Mustafa* x Nara*) bred by Tanya Hawley. Nefisa is also notable as the only daughter of Australian Reserve

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Champion Mare, Nazelle (Vision x Nazli), also bred by Tanya Hawley and tail female descendant of Tanya’s famous foundation mare, Naadirah* (Aswan x Napraslina).

We had seen Desperado on the East Coast Arabian Championships video, showing him winning Champion Colt, and at the time we were really impressed.

We were already familiar with Tanya’s beautiful mare Naadirah* and her superb descendants, so to find such a magnificent colt, linebred to Naadirah* through his dam and sired by a young stallion of such quality was very exciting.

We wasted no time in contacting Trish and Steve Marriott of Sabtah Arabians to arrange Nassor’s purchase, and just as well too, as there were other interested parties circling!

Trish and Steve kindly let us pay him off, and he finally arrived at Salam Arabians just before his second birthday. We were so excited to have our special boy home at last. As gorgeous as he was, he went through some awkward stages, sometimes looking like a shapeless fat blimp, however by the age of four, he really started to come into his own and from then on, he just kept getting more and more beautiful with each passing season.

Nassor has always had a very ‘human’ personality – gentle and kind yet full of mischief. Naturally, this means he also really loves people and is always looking for a cuddle, or a carrot. He appears to be super intelligent, and best of all he passes all of these traits onto his offspring.

One of his favourite pastimes is to put his

Nassor was shown once as a weanling by Trish and Steve, where he won Reserve Champion Male at The Challenge against older colts and stallions and the judge made particular comment on his extreme type.

He never entered a show ring again until three years ago, when we decided to take him to our local Quirindi show, just for the fun of it. He looked so fantastic, even though he was then 17 years old so we thought we would just give it a try. It was a great day out, capped off when Nassor won first in his class and Champion. He behaved like a thorough gentleman and the best part was that Mum got to see her special boy do so well. She was so proud, and not long after that, she suffered a severe stroke and passed away, making the experience so much more important to all of us.

Nassor has produced some superb foals, although not high in number. Due mainly to us living in rather isolated areas for many years, he was not available at stud or really visible, however with the advent of the internet, and now living in a more accessible location, more and more breeders have discovered him. Over the last few years Nassor has been bred to more mares than ever before, with some magnificent foals and happy owners a consistent result. Being able to make him available Australia-wide via

artificial insemination has really opened up his opportunities as a sire, and despite rising 20 years old, his semen quality and quantity is brilliant.

We are fortunate to own one of his most beautiful daughters, Salam Sahara, from the lovely Crabbet line mare, Salam Bay Hannah. I have a superb two-year-old Straight Egyptian filly earmarked specially for Nassor when she is of breeding age.

A granddaughter of Salaa El Dine, her name is Salam Isabella (Joda Antar El Dine x Shaylen Park Ooh La Laa). She is tall, correct and very typey and the resulting foal should be world class.

Nassor has been bred to mares of various bloodlines and types, including ponies and he has stamped himself on them all – the sign of a great breeding stallion.

In 2014, Tanya Hawley came to see him in person and she loved him. In her own words, ‘I hadn’t seen Sabtah Nassor in the flesh until December 2014. Having admired him from photos since he was a foal, I found him to be so much more impressive in real life. It is unfortunate that circumstances precluded his use in our breeding program.’

Zuhra Arabians Breeding purebred Arabians for over 25 years, bloodlines are largely based on Egyptian and Russian horses. Located one hour west of Brisbane Airport (Australia), visitors are welcome anytime by appointment.

Young stock, show horses and endurance horses occasionally for sale.

Zuhra Arabians currently offers you a choice of two typey Straight Egyptian full brothers to the discerning breeder &/ or show stable Sire: Jadaan Al Shaqab* (Ashhal Al Rayyan x Torfa Al Shaqab by Al Adeed Al Shaqab)

Dam: Al-Daniifahh Multi-champion Mare (Maf-Ue Shaienne x Al-Safiinahh

by Salaa Sihr*)

Chestnut yearling colt (above and left)

Zuhra Zhadaan (born October 2014) CA, LFS & SCID clear by parentage Supreme SE exhibit at ‘Top of The Range Show 2015’

We have had many offers to buy Nassor over the years, however Mum always vowed that he would never be sold and I intend to keep that vow. It has been a blessing and a privilege to be owned by such a magnificent stallion, and God willing, he will remain senior stallion at Salam Arabians for many years to come!

photos S Vesty, L Christensen & S Meyers - design www.thearabianmagazine.com

forehead into the middle of my back and push me all around his paddock, which ends up making me laugh hysterically, which makes him do it all the more.

Interestingly, his mother is known to try this on her human family as well!

Grey weanling colt (above)

Zuhra Zhajaan

(born February 2016) CA, LFS & SCID clear by parentage

Liz Christensen - Zuhra Arabians Ph/Whatsapp +61 408 726 227 liz@zuhra-arabians.com Salam Sahara as a yearling (Sabtah Nassor x Salam Bay Hannah)

www.zuhra-arabians.com Australia

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Capturing the Spirit Photography Feature

Emma McLean Simeon Shinui (Asfour x Simeon Seda) The photo was taken at Beachmere Beach and it was our first time doing a beach shoot with an Arabian stallion.

We hope to achieve, at these beach shoots, stunning memories for the clients and for that shoot we certainly did.

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Cassie Steele Lea-Ma Park Bey Shine (Rave VF x Promised Land Jaimilla) An Arabian stallion in his 20s – one of my favourite captures from Beachmere, Queensland. I love the simplicity of this photograph, the lines in the natural channels that change each tide and the serenity of this piece.

Chauvel Park Naraya (Abha Muacim x Tallangatta Soraya) With a huge bloody shoulder mark that extended to parts of her face and a personality that saw her connect not only with her family but strangers alike, this lovely intelligent mare was a dream to photograph and this is one of my favourites.

Maged Mohamed Maged is a talented young photographer from Cairo, Egypt.

Haitham Al-Farida (Saeed Hafeed Al-Chamsien x Imperial Kobla) Breeder: Al Farida Arabians (Egypt) Owner: El Shiaty Arabians

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Salamat Al Boraq (Gomaa x Samasem Al Badeia) Bred & Owned by: Al Boraq Stud

Glenys Lilley DP Aryan El Jamal (MF Aryan El Thessa x Ella Noura) Photoshoots can be challenging for the horse. We want them to be all snort and fire, and then when we are done we want them to be quiet and easy to catch.

This image captures the beautiful spirit of the Arabian stallion who knows his job, and loves his handler. It is one of my favourite photos of recent times.

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T H E D R E A M C O N T I N U E S ... H A W L E Y S T A L L I O N S 2 0 1 6 The lasting influence of the immortal Naadirah is evident in the Hawley Stallions of today, 50 years after her birth.

Important names in any pedigree are her sons Naaddel; Naasser; Naazim. Grandsons Nahda; Nile; Nadji; Shahir Ibn Naadella; Naavah and Naa’Zahar, together with great grandsons Nazzai; Maa’Zooz and Maajeed.

Living Hawley bred stallions are Nazzai; Naa’Zahar and great, great grandson Muta’Salim.

NAADIRAH (Aswan - Napraslina) 1966 - 1981, deserves to be remembered forever. Breeding is a continuum and her descendants will continue her legacy ad infinitum. (Naadirah’s image by Sharyn Ruskey) Pictured: NAZZAI (Naavah - Nazli) 23 years. Tail female Naadirah on sire and dam lines.

H AW L EY A R A B I A N S

TEL: 0499 896 386

EMAIL: tanyahawley@mac.com

NAADIRAH

Elsa Marchenay Attending April Visel’s workshop gave me the chance to go back to my most favourite place on Earth: Om EL Arab.

The people, the horses, the atmosphere, everything is enchanting, peaceful and magical.

I wasn’t able to see Sigi and Janina as they were overseas due to Sigi’s health.

I’ve always wanted to let them know in a special way how much I appreciated my working and life experience at the farm, so I was hoping to capture some nice images of their beautiful horses.

Unfortunately Sigi passed away a few days after I came back to Australia. I wish I could show her the photos.

Samphire Park Stud Breeding for temperament and trainability Images: Winged Horse Productions Beth & Terry Spurling, Kass Dalitz | Located at Hamley Bridge, SA 0401 628 149 | bethandterry1@bigpond.com | www.samphirepark.com

STANDING AT STUD

Azraff Amir 6 year old Crabbet stallion AI & natural service – frozen semen available SON of Meadow View Valour & Samphire Park Philadelphia GRANDSON of Arfaja Danyon & Meadow View Virginia, Azraq Tamojen & Maricol Mecca

Samphire Park Castan Righ 6 year old Arabian Riding Pony stallion

AI & natural service – frozen semen available SON of Azraq Tamojen & Sanlirra Divine GRANDSON of Vale Park Spotlight & Dalmarron Debutante

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A New Beginning

Saharri Park Arabians

by Carmel Rowley

S

aharri Park Arabians believes in the saying, every day is a new beginning and in an interesting twist of fate while planning for the future an ancient symbol came to mind.

The family felt this representation of life sits side by side with the spiritual existence of the Arabian horse. Bound by time and change this ancient symbol is called the Endless Knot.

There have been decades of time and change for Saharri Park and by taking on the concept of no end from the Endless Knot the stud is in its latest phase of celebrating a new beginning.

When you ask a breeder about their favourite memories it’s always a thrill to hear the answer. Melissa’s answer is full of enthusiasm and caring for the breed she loves. ‘There have been many thrilling accomplishments – winning at horse shows, purchasing a new horse or looking forward to the latest foals. The birth of a foal would have to be one of the greatest moments for any breeder, the nervous excitement while waiting to see the results of a planned mating. But to be honest it’s living with Arabian horses that is the true reward.’

Many life ventures combine both a competitive edge and a responsibility to a long and interesting heritage.

Breeding Arabian horses could be described as such a venture and everyone at Saharri Park Arabians believes to achieve such specific goals you must have a firm vision to inspire.

The vision that began with Melissa’s parents Margaret and the late Les Masliah has now spread to encompass their daughters Melissa and Nicola.

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Simeon Shalach (Simeon Shifran x Simeon Salome)

Margaret recalls how there was something in each of the horses that made them special to her but Wandarri Sheik has always kept a firm grasp on her heart.

‘My stallion Wandarri Sheik (River Oak Tabu x Wandarri Angalique) was the epitome of special but we sadly lost him at eighteen years. Sheik amassed a creditable number of show wins and amongst them were the 1997 Sydney Royal Easter Show where he went 1st and Reserve Champion Led Stallion, and at the 1999 Australian National Horse Show, Reserve Champion.

While Melissa is managing the stud her sister Nicola is there as her support,

someone who encourages and offers great advice. Nicola has the ability to understand and communicate that subtle language horses understand. A talented rider, Nicola works with the horses and the horses respond. Her mare Saharri Park Sehana’s (Moniet Jehan x Wandarri Angalique) show ring results speak for themselves.

■ 2002 Australian Arabian Horse Championships – Top Five Ridden Mare ■ 2003 Australian Saddle Horse Championships – Reserve Championships ■ 2004 National Arabian Stud Horse Show – Champion Ridden Mare ■ 2004 Sydney Royal Easter Show – First Ridden Mare/Gelding

Wandarri Sultan 1985 – 2013 (Simeon Sanegor x Wandarri Jasmin)

■ 2005 Sydney Royal Easter Show – First Ridden Mare and first Ridden Mare/Gelding.

Winner of the Lillaine Gedye Perpetual Trophy ■ 2006 Sydney Royal Easter Show – First Ridden and First Ridden Mare/Gelding Sometimes the purchase of a certain horse can establish an immediate presence for a breeding farm. In 1985 Melissa and her mother purchased Wandarri Sultan at six months of age.

From the beginning there was a strong bond but for Melissa it was more of a friendship. Sultan was by Simeon Sanegor from a Royal Domino line mare. Described as a truly noble horse he possessed a gentle spirit and loved to be ridden. Sultan also surpassed all expectations as a show horse and as a breeding horse he excelled. Saharri Park still has several daughters, two granddaughters and his son Saharri Park Sitaan, to carry on his bloodlines.

During this time Saharri Park was busy with all aspects of horse breeding, training and riding. The next step was to show their breeding stock to the public.

Margaret enthusiastically travelled the horses to shows most weekends. From 1985 and into the late 1990s the horses of Saharri Park managed to achieve the

Simeon Sigalit 1989 – 2013 (Simeon Shai x *Ramses Malaka)

ultimate result. These were the heady days of fiercely contested classes packed full of future Australian Champions.

The highly valued Sultan daughter Saharri Park Sophina (x Peppersfield Silver Shadow) was shown extensively

by Margaret Masliah and went first at the 1997 NSW All Breed State Challenge Show and first at the 1997 Sydney Royal.

Sophina was mainly shown at agricultural shows winning many Championships and Reserve Championships.

Melissa remembers her ‘noble’ steed Sultan; ‘to be honest there were so many great moments that I shared with Sultan. I will never forget jumping on him for the very first time. I even remember the weather. It was overcast, still and peaceful, not even a breeze. I was full of joy to be finally on Sultan’s back.

I remember my joy, Sultan’s joy, and the joy of being together. I was riding him. I loved that horse so much ... ‘ The other half of the cornerstone of Saharri Park Arabians is Simeon Sigalit (Simeon Shai x *Ramses Malaka) 1989 – 2013. Sigalit was Melissa’s first Arabian mare and bred to Wandarri Sultan produced two beautiful foals – Saharri Park Sitaan and Saharri Park

Szephyr (dec). Sultan and Sigalit passed away within two weeks of each other. They are buried side by side at the entrance gate of Saharri Park overlooking the property.

They remain the heart and soul of the property as they lay in sacred ground.

Another Sigalit daughter Saharri Park Safiy’e by *Asfour also accredited herself with show ring honours. She was 2000 S.C.A.R.A.B.S Champion Filly and was shown with success at the Canberra Nationals, the National Stud Horse and Pony Show and the East Coast Championships going Top Five, two years in a row.

Melissa describes Safiy’e ‘as my little snoop, if she could, she would be in the house! We have a very special bond.’

Melissa and Safiy’e share a connection of souls that makes both their lives sweeter. ‘It’s really beautiful to have horses that you can understand,’ Melissa adds. 'Horses who almost talk to you.’

Every horse at Saharri Park has a place and the 1998 stallion Saharri Park Sitaan (Wandarri Sultan x Simeon Sigalit) has more than lived up to expectations. He competed admirably at the 2000 East Coast Championships, went Champion Colt at the 2000 Arabian Nationals and

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Saharri Park Sefoura (*Asfour x Simeon Sefina)

Saharri Park Safiy’e (*Asfour x Simeon Sigalit)

Top Ten at the 2000 Australian National Championships. With her engaging personality and desirable pedigree Saharri Park Sefoura (*Asfour x Simeon Sefina) has also had a successful show career. At the 2000 East Coast Championships she went second and Top Ten at the Arabian National Stud Horse and Pony Show followed by Reserve Champion Filly.

Knowing a breeding program can never afford to stand still, a picture of the stallion Hansen on an early cover of the Australian Arabian Horse News sparked a promise for the future and a fresh passion for Straight Egyptian Arabian horses.

It was around 2014 when Margaret noticed the colt Simeon Shalach at Simeon Stud. His sire is Simeon Shifran and his dam is the glorious Australian National Champion bay Simeon Salome.

‘He was only a yearling,’ Margaret said, ‘but when he looked at me with large, gentle eyes and licked my hand I felt an instant connection. In my mind it was Wandarri Sheik talking to me. Needless to say we managed to purchase Shalach.

Now it’s exciting to focus on his future and support Melissa as she creates a different era for the family stud farm.’

This different era began by combining the experience of the past with the next generation’s ideals. The stallion Saharri Park Sitaan, the colts Simeon Shalach and Saharri Park Sadraan (*Jadaan Al Shaqab x Saharri Park Safiy’e) combine with the *Asfour daughters Saharri Park Sefoura (x Simeon Sefina), Saharri Park

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Safiy’e (x Simeon Sigalit) and Simeon Sikit (x Simeon Samra). When you include the Royal Jamill daughter Halimas Suddani and three *Jadaan Al Shaqab youngsters you can visualise this special new beginning.

‘It’s really beautiful to have horses that you can understand... Horses who almost talk to you’ But this new beginning continues as Saharri Park gathers together an even more impressive group of mares. There are always opportunities but to take advantage of these opportunities is the key. It’s what opens doors to make dreams become a reality. To this end several *Asfour granddaughters have been purchased, the Simeon Shifran daughter, Simeon Saza (x Simeon Se), the *Imperial Madaar daughter, Simeon Sukar (x Simeon Sukari) and the *Anaza Bay Shahh daughter Simeon Sarai (x Simeon Sibolet) and along with the latest little darling Saharri Park Sejaan’e (pending) by *Jadaan Al Shaqab (x Saharri Park Sefoura), all will intertwine to create a solid future.

work with my plan to have Wandarri Sultan and Simeon Sigalit as one of the cornerstones at Saharri Park. I cannot stress enough how important these lines have been for our stud.’

The call from the desert is felt by Melissa who believes Arabian horses have an aura of true sacredness about them and trusts they hold the key to ancient and mystical harmony in the universe.

She and her devoted family realise they are following the lifetime tradition handed down from all the dedicated pioneers who previously travelled the path with these great horses and who played a lead role in producing and preserving the classic Arabian horses of today. For Saharri Park, every day is a new beginning.

Melissa is her own toughest critic, she knows where she’s heading and looks forward to combining her vision for the earlier horses; ‘Saharri Park has retained several Wandarri Sheik daughters to Simeon Saza (Simeon Shifran x Simeon Se)

Go West… Life is full of Arabians there!

Western Australian Arabian Breeders

by David Gillett

Om El Eminence

(Sanadik El Shaklan x Om El Bint Shaina)

W

estern Australia is an expansive state made up of approximately 2.6 million square kilometres of mostly arid, outback terrain. The human population is concentrated in the fertile south-west corner, home to the Margaret River wine region, popular surfing beaches and of course most, however not all, of Western Australia’s Arabian horse studs.

And while the state’s capital Perth may be the most isolated city in the world, the wonder of modern science and advances in artificial breeding practices mean that today, breeding top quality Arabian horses in Western Australia from worldwide bloodlines is more accessible than ever before.

That said, top quality Arabian horses have been bred in Western Australia for many,

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many years. If you have ever been included in a debate exhausting the principles of line breeding, inbreeding or outcrossing and have emerged confused, then make the trek to Marbling Arabians.

Combining the blood of Silver Fire (Naseem x Somra) and Aswan (Nazeer x Yosreia), this stud clearly demonstrates the results of years of careful line breeding. Ideals have been achieved and with more certainty and unity, with the ‘hit and miss’ factor almost eliminated.

Nearly fifty years ago stud owner Nola Cameron set out on a quest to buy horses that reflected the type of Arabian embedded in her mind. Her vision was simple – beautiful Arabian horses. Half a century later, with many accolades under her belt, this diminutive woman, in equal

parts both formidable and genteel, has a very humble attitude, especially regarding her success. ‘The horses,’ she believes, ‘speak for themselves.’

Originally built on English and Crabbet bloodlines, the daughters of foundation stallion Shahr Yagil (Shermoon x Kasida) laid the perfect foundation for the introduction of the extraordinary sire, Naasser. Sired by Mustafa (Hadban Enzahi x Massarah) from the British and Australian National Champion Naadirah (Aswan x Napraslina), Naasser lifted the height and length of rein of the herd, reinforced exquisite beauty and added a new line to Naseem through Naadirah. He was said to have had ‘no weak spots’…and is still recognised today as the most magnificent and influential sire at the stud, producing winners at both halter and endurance.

ARAB DREAMS ADVERT

Marbling Lutana

(Marbling Nafara x Marbling Priscilla)

Today, with Marbling Arabians under the guidance of Lynne Bunce, the stud has continued with these lines with unflinching determination and success. This herd of mares, now several generations on, still maintain their incredible uniformity with large eyes and black skinned noses. Nola states, ‘These mares are so important and treasured.’ Only recently, a new mare line was introduced with the lease of Rusleema (Rusleem x Sunne in Silver), a beautiful grey mare imported from Great Britain, who effortlessly fits in alongside the ethereal, doeeyed white mares that Marbling is known for.

Principal stallion is Marbling Nur (Naasser x Marbling Nicole). A double Naasser son, like his sire, Nur has no weak spots and as a personality is awe-inspiring. Nur has been used lightly within the stud to date with outstanding results, now with a group of fillies reaching breeding age, Nur’s time to shine has arrived. Nola can often be heard saying of Nur, ‘I have bred the most beautiful horse.’

The line breeding program at Marbling Arabians has taken the stud on a definite path, where the focus is above all, to maintain the character and antiquity of each generation. Athletic, beautiful Arabian horses that have, and can, hold their own in the chosen activity of their owners.

Rod Payne’s Caballo Árabe stud is undergoing a consolidation of all facilities and stock from Rod’s base in Queensland to Western Australia. It is cooperating with Torquata Arabians to provide a ‘mini’ stallion service facility, currently consisting of Om El Eminence (Sanadik

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El Shaklan x Om El Bint Shaina), Mozart ERA (Amadeus x Bint Bint Faaris) and Torquata Jahari (Afrikah ERA x Rio-De-Ora Contessa). There are facilities for visiting mares, agistment and spelling. Halter training and show handling is also available.

After a hiatus of several years the breeding program at Caballo Árabe is restarting and is now concentrating on the Estopa family line. As such, it is planned to breed Om El Eminence to Bohemia-Estopa (Om El Abadan x Malikah Estopa) this season, hopefully to produce a colt. With thanks to Lex Cowan of Lexington Arabians for his cooperation in this line breeding program, another two mares with strong Estopa lines will be bred to Lexington Eclipse (Om El Abadan x Cool Marah).

‘The Arabian horse, after all, is historically a ridden horse. We use strong, world respected bloodlines and are not into fashion breeding.’

The main objective for Rod is to maintain his vision of the classic Arabian type, movement and temperament…all essential for riding. As he points out, ‘The Arabian horse, after all, is historically a ridden horse.

We use strong, world respected bloodlines and are not into fashion breeding.’

Marbling Nur

(Naasser x Marbling Nicole)

And while Perth may be the most isolated city in the world, we now move on to perhaps the most isolated Arabian horse stud on the planet. Set on a 470 acre tropical fruit plantation, Wyngura Arabians is owned by Andy Dobson. Approximately 1000km south-west of Darwin, 30km from the NT/WA border in the Kimberley region of far north West Australia, and nearly 18km out of Kununurra, the farm is, as Andy says, ‘out the back of pretty much nowhere!’

The stud started in 1988 with the birth of a Part Arabian filly by Blue Dominance (Kelkette Park Izak x Dalma). Today, the stud is ‘somewhat of a mixed bag of horses,’ says Andy. ‘I have very limited space because my husband keeps planting more bananas! I have the stallion Wyngura True North (True Vision x Charaway Kasmeeka), and a lovely Abu Shaklan daughter, Kharess, as my only current purebred mare. All the other mares I had were related to my stallion and were sold, and I haven’t found any replacements yet. I also have a lovely Arabian Stock Horse mare and an Arabian Pony filly by my stallion.’

Earlier this year, Andy made the gutsy decision to bring Wyngura True North across the country to compete at the Australian National Championships in Sydney. ‘It was not a decision taken lightly. It is a long way, it is expensive and we are not accustomed to the showing ways of the east coast. Having said that, we believed we had a good horse and we wanted to know how he would stack up

When

Athleticism and Quality are Priority Look to a

Marbling Arabians | Western Australia | p: 0429 939 937 | e: marblingarabians@bigpond.com

www.marblingarabians.com.au Photos: Chris Ros, Jessie Lloyd, Chris Maroni

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against his own kind, and more importantly to me was the scorecard. I wanted to know if the judges viewed him in the same way as we did, and where they saw his strengths and weaknesses as an Arabian.’

Wading through the quagmire of quarantine to bring the stallion through four states and back within Western Australian regulations was challenging. ‘I contacted various rodeo, campdraft and showgrounds along the way for overnight camping along the way, and then it was just a case of loading up my plain two-horse float and settling in for a long drive. My husband Craig wasn’t keen on me doing the trip alone, so I put out the call for a road trip buddy and Terri Walker jumped at the chance…I am not sure if she regrets that decision now! We had tyre trouble with the float, and got down to a “distance to empty” reading on the car of 6km with no fuel left in the jerry cans, had some pretty dodgy highway food and pretty much lived on mini quiches.’

It was all a distant memory however as Andy’s beautiful black stallion thundered into the arena at SIEC and was rewarded with a Top Ten placing. ‘We had an absolute ball at the show, were totally blown away by the whole thing. I was even taking photos of the shower block…way better than the amenities we are used to! The horses were stunning, the people were extraordinarily helpful and friendly, and we cannot thank everyone enough for all their support.’

Andy likes her horses to be ridden and able to work. ‘We live in an area where a pretty, or even correct horse will just not cut it without some kind of work. People have little interest in halter horses. They can appreciate them, but you won’t really grab their attention until it can prove itself under saddle. The biggest competition in town, like many small towns, is the campdraft.

I often took the purebreds out drafting to the amusement \of the local station guys, and then changed my mind and decided to approach it in a different manner by breeding an Arabian Stockhorse. Hopefully she will attract some interest in the cross up here. There are so few competitions up here, unless you can afford to travel to Darwin, that we can’t really specialise in any one area, so our horses are out at the shows, the rodeos, being used as clerk of course mounts at the races or being dragged out for pony rides. As long as they are useful, they can stay.’

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Lusia Abbott’s Alphalea Stud is one of Western Australia’s best known studs, with horses competing regularly with success in the Eastern states and at home. Located on the edge of the wheat belt, approximately half way between Perth and Albany, the farm breeds for both show and endurance. In fact, three horses were recently sold and exported to the famed endurance stable Shadwell Stud of Dubai and the UK.

Status LL

(Marwan Al Shaqab x GLF Promises Kept)

I enjoy talking to Lusia immensely. She has strong opinions, is extremely generous, and has a great eye for a horse. Recently, we got together to talk about her future plans for her stud.

David Gillett: So Lusia…you were meant to be downsizing your stud and the next thing I see is that you have a new stallion.

How did this come about?

Lusia Abbott: Status LL (Marwan Al Shaqab x GLF Promises Kept) is so happy here…how could I say no to him? He is not the prettiest horse but what he does have I really like.

He has the eyes of Padron…and so much

Wyngura True North

(True Vision x Charaway Kasmeeka)

PC: Sharon Meyers

more. I have not had a stallion since 2006 (Australian Champion Sadiks Psyche)…so when Status arrived it felt like something had come home, that was missing! His pedigree may not be flavour of the month but he has so much to offer.

David Gillett: And your imported mares have come back from the Eastern states?

Lusia Abbott: Yes and I’m very happy. They are still in quarantine for 100 days because they might have liver fluke from the aquatic snails in the drought…which is strange when you really think about it. I not only bought my US imports RD Caprice (Bey Ambition x Gisselle) and Breathless Vision PCF (PCF Vision x Breath of Spring PSY) back over to Western Australia, but I purchased back an aged Padrons Psyche mare I bred, Padrons Leah from Queensland. I am tossing up whether to breed her to Status LL or to Ray of Light for a palomino…maybe I’ll do both!

David Gillett: Would you consider the idea to downsize has in fact been a revelation of sorts?

Lusia Abbott: Yes absolutely. I sold five horses this year, which is a lot in today’s market and although I was happy to sell some of the other precious mares, I wasn’t prepared to give them away and so I decided to just keep them all for myself…simply because they make me happy. I did get a good offer on two of my imported mares, however I realised that although the money would be well appreciated, it would not make me as happy as seeing those mares in my paddock every day.

David Gillett: Any other plans for expansion?

Lusia Abbott: As it turns out, yes. I will be leasing a Straight Russian mare to breed to KAS Von Dutch which is very exciting.

I have also returned to the farm a daughter of Revel (Vivo x Essence) I bred, Zoya LEA who is out of El Arab Zarena (Mahabi El Shaklan x Zadira). I wanted to bring back some Revel blood into my herd, and this was always my favourite of his three daughters. I am tossing up who to breed her

to at the moment…however she is likely to visit black Straight Egyptian from the USA Murano SPI, the only son of Bellagio in Australia. He has been a Supreme Champion here in Western Australia. Status LL is now here of course, but there are so many wonderful stallions available via frozen semen. Aside from the obvious convenience of being close to the major Australian shows, in the past this was part of the reason I always had horses in the Eastern states. Now, with frozen semen so readily available and a really great vet, I have the world at my fingertips right here at home.

I am very happy with the horses that I have and I plan to enjoy them. I have daughters of some of the world’s greatest stallions…

Padrons Psyche, Monogramm, Pogrom and now a son of Marwan Al Shaqab…and out of a Padron mare! I have absolute eye candy in the form of RD Caprice and Breathless Vision PCF, and together these horses really are my dreams come true. How could one ever give up their dreams? Especially as you finally hold them in the palm of your hand.

Om El Eminence & Jen All enquiries to Jen at: Eminence@caballoarabe.com.au

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An Interview with

Scott Trees

S

cott Trees is one of the world’s most notable equine photographers, and for several decades now has been at the forefront of his craft. Always pushing to find a creative, fresh approach to his art, Scott’s talent has taken himself and his camera to all corners of the globe to photograph the majestic Arabian horse. In this edition of Arabian Studs & Stallions, he shares with us some of his favourite works, and the stories behind them.

The Story Behind The Image My approach photographing horses has always been from the viewpoint that I am creating an image for advertising.

As such, it needs to get attention. For example, consider ads for automobiles; if all of the shots of cars were taken from the same angle, and were just different coloured cars, after a while, you would no longer notice the ads. Horses in my opinion are no different. Taken from the same angle every time, pretty soon, nobody looks at them any more.

When I first started my career the shots used of Arabians were usually head

Marajj on Dune

Photography by Scott Trees

shots and body shots. Having done a lot of commercial photography and working with art directors, I got an appreciation for the fact that in advertising, the image had to get attention. I also took the approach that if you take something that people see every day, and show it to them in a way they have not seen before, they will take notice. So, I began shooting horses in different contexts.

I have had the opportunity to create a lot of great images and the following are just a few I thought you, the reader, might enjoy knowing the ‘behind the scenes’ story of how they were done.

Gokart

MARAJJ ON DUNE In many of my shot setups, I push the envelope. This is based upon a lot of years of equine and photographic experience.

This shot was one such example.

We turned him loose and I got the shot I was looking for on the first pass. He was very much the gentleman as he came down the hill to look at the mare. He let Dawn Martin walk up to him and catch him.

Marajj was new on the scene and Albifayer was looking for something different. I came up with the idea of him coming over a dune, at liberty.

The only dunes available were in a very large desert.

There is always a risk for this sort of shot, but I endeavour to consider all of the possible problems we could encounter and figure out how to counter it. Also, we had about ten people outside the shot parameters in order to have plenty of help catching him.

In order to accomplish this we had a lot of staff on the ground, and also two catch riders. To keep his interest focused where we wanted him to go, we had a mare in heat, that they were going to breed to Marajj, standing at the bottom of the dune. So, if by chance we could not catch him, and he bred her it would not be a problem.

GOKART Early in my career a shot that had a huge impact on my future as an equine photographer was this shot I did of the stallion Gokart. The concept was to shoot him against a white background. I rented a commercial studio that had what is called a cove, which was a solid curved wall that

could be painted any colour desired which I did in white. It was a rather complicated lighting setup, and was shot on film.

We laid rubber mats on the floor and led Gokart into the studio. He was a great tempered stallion, and we brought a mare into the studio to tease him. I called a break, and they led the mare back outside of the studio. As they did, I noticed Gokart taking a look from this angle, and I yelled for them to hold the mare right there. I loved the angle, expression and the lighting against the white background.

I took three shots, and this was the best of the group. It was the first time this angle had been used on an Arabian and when published, it took the industry by storm. It is a pose often copied but never duplicated, and brought me a lot of attention as a photographer.

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Escape Ibn Navarrone

Stallion in a Dream

ESCAPE IBN NAVARRONE Another shot that really captured the Arabian horse community was this shot of Escape Ibn Navarrone taken for Ajman Stud. Once again, I scouted the location I wanted to use, and knew that I was going to want a more subdued light. Waiting for the light to get just right, I also knew that when you brought another stallion up to Escape, he was going to puff up, bellow, and sometimes strike out. He didn’t let me down and I got this shot on my third release of the shutter.

There was a handler standing in the middle of his back, which I removed.

I am not against removing something like that, or a distracting object in the background. However, I am absolutely against, and will NOT alter conformation in any of my photographs.

STALLION IN A DREAM Another image that had a huge impact on my career was done for Imperial Egyptian Stud. Their trainer, Eileen Verdieck, was always looking to do something different,

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S The

ource

cc

Straight

Egyptian

Elegance

ANSATA HALIM SHAH (US) SALAA EL DINE (DE) HANAN (EG) THE SOURCE CC (US) MALIK (DE) MOUNA (IL) MALIKA 'S' (NL)

THE ENAYAT PARTNERSHIP Megan Borowiak | 0439 314 693

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Danton & Bakarat

and along with a film crew we began building and lighting the set, photographing several different stallions and mares.

We started at 4 in the afternoon, and finished at 4:30 the next morning.

based upon how they were standing next to each other, what she thought would happen if we turned them loose together. She said, ‘Well, let’s find out…’, and with that the halters were removed.

to do something different, and I came up with the idea of shooting him coming out of fog. Noting his rider, Don Delongpre, was wearing a red jacket, I decided to add a red filter over my light source on camera left.

Again, this was shot with film, and what you can’t see in this image are 16 people including camera and lighting crews, and catch people that are positioned throughout the set. When we first turned Ansata Imperial loose in the fog, he wasn’t all that certain about it, and came slowly through the set, allowing me to capture this image, which was shot on a medium format camera.

They took off at a run together, obviously enjoying their freedom to run free. They ran for a bit, stopped, looked at each other, then us, and took off at a dead run right by all of us. We were able to catch them, but based upon that experience I wanted more.

When using fog, it is not so much the fog that can bother a horse as it is the noise of the fog machines themselves. As Don rode Barbary through the fog the first time, I took this shot.

He had a great expression, as the fog was pretty thick, and he did not see me until he came through it. It was shot on film, and is shown exactly as it was shot, with no post production effects. I did take about ten more after this shot, but knew I had what I wanted.

It turned out his first pass through was his best pass. It was another image that helped to boost my career visibility within the industry.

DANTON & BAKARAT On the morning I was to shoot these two stallions individually, we had walked them down near a beach area that I liked. We took them down with a couple of other horses, and I noticed they were standing next to each other like best friends exhibiting none of the typical stallion behaviours.

They were Polish-bred Arabians, grew up in a pasture together in Poland, and had been stabled next to each other for about ten years, able to nose each other through a mesh divider. So I asked the handler,

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So, I scouted locations, found an inlet that I thought would work, and the next afternoon we turned them loose again, but this time IN the water. I was hoping for maybe a shot or two of them coming out of the water to land. I was completely unprepared for what happened.

For the next hour they proceeded to run and play in the water together! Back and forth in the water, onto land, and back to the water again. At one point Bakarat even laid in the water to cool down! This shot is one of many that I took that afternoon, and I have to say that in all my years of shooting, I have never experienced anything so wonderful to observe and photograph.

BARBARY+++ I have had the opportunity to photograph a lot of great horses, and one of my favourites was Barbary. We were looking

I made an 8x10 print to show Don, and he said he wasn’t all that wild about it.

So, I made an 11x14, took it back and to my surprise he was still a bit neutral.

My wife Linna and I had a gallery in Los Olives California at the time, so I made a 40x60 print, mounted it hanging as a free float from the ceiling, and painted the wall behind it a subdued shade of red.

We invited Don and Richard over for evening wine and cheese in the gallery, turned down the lighting, with a key light on the print, and when Don walked through the door, Linna gently pushed the print, moving it slightly sideways, and it really looked like Barbary was trotting right at you! Don said, ‘Okay Scott, NOW I see it!’

Barbary+++

Hesitation

Dune Mare

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HESITATION For the last ten years, I have had the privilege of heading up a photography workshop sponsored by the Equine Photographers Network. It is held at the Sombrero Ranch in Craig CO, and is the largest privately owned horse ranch in the United States, with over 1000 head of horses. The horses are used for dude ranches throughout the southwest, and also leased to people looking for summer mounts.

the Western Lifestyle with real deal cowboys and cowgirls riding grade horses.

Throughout the course of the workshop, I arrange different sorts of setups for my students to photograph. One such setup was taking pack horses across a hill.

Without a doubt of the many international workshops I do, this is my favourite and is a great opportunity to photograph

Just as they came to a sagebrush, the lead pack horse hesitated before jumping over the sagebrush, and I got this shot.

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

My love of photography started with black and white film, and to this day, whenever possible I try to shoot in black and white.

I felt the lighting for this particular shot would work well for black and white.

It was the action winner in the Cowboys and Indians magazine for 2009.

DUNE MARE I was looking to do something romantic of a mare running free in the desert. We tried a couple of different locations but from my previous scoutings, I knew that this particular dune, at this time of day, was going to have the sort of light and texture I was looking for. All it needed was a white mare!

I mention further in this article that I had used this mare, Esta Shama, in another session. She had a best friend pasture mate, and would always come back to her

Dune Back Mares

Desert Fashion Shoot

when turned loose. We walked her to the area I wanted her free in and as hoped for, she trotted back the direction I wanted.

The lighting was beautiful, and as she approached the top of the dune, she hesitated just slightly before heading down to her friend. We only had to turn her loose once, as I got what I was looking for on that first pass.

People see shots like this and often don’t realise how much time and effort goes

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into making it happen. There were a lot of people involved. While I am in charge and responsible for getting the shot, I could not do it without the help of the handlers and their assistants. I know when I get the shot I want, in situations like this, the safety of the horse is my number one concern.

DUNE BACK MARES That same evening we had done a series of mares standing next to one another.

We had four fog machines going that night, in a closed area, and so the fog got

pretty thick. I called for a break to open the doors to let the air move in and dissipate the fog. This also let the horses rest a bit.

As I was walking out to get some fresh air for myself, I looked over and thought to myself, that looks interesting, and took one shot. This was shot on film, and it wasn’t until the proofs came back that I realised I had something special. I have a print of this that is almost life size, and from a distance it does look like sand dunes!

Nicole Emanuel

Yackandandah, North East Victoria

 m: 0408 203 211  e: Kelkettepark@bigpond.com

*By Appointment Please*

We have a selection of beautifully bred horses ready for their next ‘Endurance’ or ‘Show’ home.

Kelkette Park Arabian Stud extends an invitation to visit our special stallions, mares, fillies, colts and geldings.

Nicole Emanuel

Kelkette Park Arabian Stud

Head Study in Black and White

As she trotted towards the models, I took this shot, thinking to myself that she would turn camera left immediately and that would be an even better angle. No sooner had that thought entered my mind, when the model in the turquoise silk took off running away at a dead run! By the way, the girl at the far left was the one with horse experience.

HEAD STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE While I was always looking to do something different, that doesn’t mean that I was opposed to head studies. For this shot, I loved the texture of the horse’s mane next to his body and the expression in the horse’s eye. Here is a classic example of taking something that we see every day, and trying to show it in a way you haven’t seen it before.

DESERT FASHION SHOOT This shot was actually taken for a fashion shoot. I was looking for something a bit different, to use in the catalogue and we had used some horses off and on during the previous few days of shooting. Only one of the girls had any horse experience, see if you can tell by the body language in the image which one she was! I knew from having used

Marquis 1

this mare, Esta Shama, in shoots before, that she would trot back the way she was led to the location as we had her pasture buddy being held just off camera left. I told the models this would be the case, and assured them she would not come close, let alone run over them. I was using a very long telephoto lens, so the compression effect made the mare look closer than she was.

MARQUIS 1 Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to photograph a lot of beautiful horses, and not always do you need to come up with something exotic. Marquis 1 had such a beautiful profile, and with the selection of the background and lighting, made for one of my favourite head shots.

It wasn’t all that complicated to do and as I do with stallions, I prefer to use another stallion as a tease horse, as they tend to puff up and give a much better expression.

pr ou d l y pr e se nts at s tu d

A L KH A -Z A R

(imp USA)

(Thee Asil x Infidelʼs Princess) SCID/CA clear Available via chilled semen Sire of gorgeous multi champion, Australian Top 10 and Australian champion progeny

O M EL A KID

(imp USA)

(Om El Shahmaan x Om El Akivaa) Available via natural service or chilled semen Sire of supreme champion and Australian Top 10 progeny – watch out for his gorgeous yearling daughter, DP Valentinoʼs Rose this coming season

Also at stud are Kublai Khan (SK Shakla Khan), sire of highly successful progeny, both led and ridden.

Also at stud for the first time, the young cremello ARP/RP/Partbred Welsh Colt, Dara Park Kingʼs Ransom.

Contact us for our sales list. We have outstanding purebred and derivative horses waiting for their turn to shine.

Others are already making their mark in showing, dressage and even in international endurance.

ALL stallions available via PRIVATE TREATY P: 61 5629 5208

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Horse in Silk

Tammam Albadeia

HORSE IN SILK One morning on the beach in Oman, we had been shooting a young lady riding down the beach with a large piece of silk floating behind her. I liked the effect but wondered what it might look like over and on the horse. So I asked her what she thought would happen and she said, ‘I think he will be okay but let’s find out!’

So she moved down the beach, draped the fabric over the horse’s head, and came towards me at a dead run. The light, sheer fabric pulled tight around the horse’s head and neck, and I fired a series of shots as the horse came towards me. Just as he came by, he took in a breath pulling the fabric into his nostril and it made for a very interesting shot.

TAMMAM ALBADEIA At Albifayer Stud, we were looking for a different sort of place to shoot and came across this building that was being remodelled. There was only one way in and out, and we felt confident it would be safe for Tammam to be free.

We turned him loose in the building, and he really wasn’t doing much. He would walk around, toss his head every now and then, but I was really having a very difficult time getting any sort of expression.

In all honesty, he was being a jerk.

I had a large reflector that was bouncing some light from outside into the scene,

Our Senior Stallion:

Sabtah Nassor (Desperado x Clifton Park Nefisa)

Grey stallion | 20yrs old | 15.1HH | CA, LFS & SCIDs clear | Linebred to Naadirah* and Nara* | Grandson of Nile An early son of Australian Champion Desperado | Extremely fertile | Available at stud via AI

A magnificent stallion and an equally magnificent sire.

Nassor is the epitome of Arabian type, with beautiful conformation, excellent legs and feet, flamboyant movement and a wonderful people-loving personality!

Photo taken Winter 2015 PC: Terry Hardcastle

Terry Hardcastle Wallabadah, NSW, AUSTRALIA Ph: 02 6746 5476 M: 0457 177 111 Email: macushla20@gmail.com

To view our other superb stallions, visit our website at

www.salamarabians.com

Breeders of Champions

End of the Day

and I told an assistant to throw it at him to see if he would look at something! He was surprised, bucked, but didn’t look, then stopped, went to the bathroom, smelled it, and for some unknown reason reared. I took four shots as he reared, this being the best.

Manager Dawn Martin had tripped outside just as he reared and didn’t see me take the shot. Looking at it in the camera I said, ‘I got it.’ She said, ‘No, he hasn’t done anything,’ again not having seen him rear. So I took the camera over to her and said, ‘Dawn I GOT the shot!’ She looked in the camera and said, ‘Okay load him up, we are DONE!’ END OF THE DAY Throughout the course of my career, I have travelled the world photographing horses. People often ask if I have a personal favourite of my images.

I was in Poland, shortly after its liberation from Communist rule. It was in Poland that I was to see horses being used as they had been for centuries: as a critical part in the daily survival of man. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the heavy horse breed and there were a lot of them in Poland at the time.

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I was staying in a rather eclectic B&B owned by Majick Falkowitcz, a very talented artist and painter in his own right. While he spoke little English, I was able to convey my love of the heavy horses. One afternoon he came running up the stairs and said, ‘Scott, Kona (horse), come, we go!’

So off we went, following a draft horse pulling a heavy wagon load of hay that had been hand loaded. As we came into the courtyard, the owner had unhitched the horse from the wagon. I tried to convey that I wanted to photograph the horse. Speaking no English, he assumed I wanted him with his horse, and was so proud to be photographed. After taking his picture, he said, ‘Moment!’, and went to get his wife and daughter whom I also photographed with him and his horse.

Finally, I walked up, gently took the obviously tired Belgian, pointed him towards the wagon and turned him loose.

He slowly ambled to his stall, just to the left of the wagon. As he got to the wagon, he stopped and slowly reached out, taking a bite of the hay he had worked so hard to obtain. At that moment I took this shot which is still my personal favourite.

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to photograph some exceptional horses and work with some great people. There is a lot of work and thought that goes into creating my images. I will definitely push the envelope, but a lifetime association with horses, a great ability to read their body language, and the trust of the people that work with me, has enabled me to create some memorable images.

People have asked me, ‘What do you consider your best shot?’ My reply is always, ‘I hope I haven’t taken it yet!’

Fortunately, I am one of those lucky people that gets to do something they enjoy every day. I always tell my friends, ‘You will know I am dead when you wave a camera under my nose and I don’t quiver!’

In all honesty, I think the best is yet to come.

Scott Trees

B

BLUEDAWN

EGYPTIAN ARABIANS

Delicately blending the finest Straight Egyptian bloodlines from around the world to produce an Arabian of exquisite type, soundness, movement and trainability.

Bluedawn Egyptian Arabians is eagerly awaiting the arrival of three foals this season by Jadaan Al Shaqab (Qatar) (Ashhal Al Rayyan x Torfa Al Shaqab by Al Adeed Al Shaqab).

These foals are out of Simeon Siliet (Imperial Madaar (US) x Simeon Sukari by Asfour (DE)), Chaswyck on Gossemer Wings (Asfour (DE) x Simeon Sooka by Anaza Bay Shahh) and Chaswyck Nefarah (GR Nafees x Chaswyck on Gossemer Wings by Asfour (DE)).

Simeon Sifra

Imperial Madaar (US) x Simeon Sibolet by Asfour (DE) Photo: Sharon Meyers

Bluedawn Egyptian Arabians is founded on the tail female line of 27 lbn Galal-5 through the daughters and grand-daughters of Simeon Sukari, Simeon Sheba and Simeon Simona.

Selectively breeding our mares with the finest stallions available to perpetuate true Southern Arabian type bred by the famous Egyptian Breeder Abbas Pasha I.

BLUEDAWN EGYPTIAN ARABIANS Gregory, Marysia and Kyal Keyes P: 07 5427 0182 E: bluedawnarabians@bigpond.com w w w. blue dawn a ra b i a n s . c om

We will be breeding our mares this season to Ashquar HM (DE), Seka Sadeek and Laheeb Al Rayyan.

60 Years of Simeon Interview with Marion Richmond of Simeon Stud

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t is difficult to imagine the person fussing around in the kitchen across from me, elegantly demanding I have another piece of home-made apple cake, is in fact the same person who sixty years ago, bought an ancient part Arabian mare and began a stud that would touch people the world over.

The impact of Simeon Stud cannot be over-estimated, both here in Australia and certainly around the globe. Horses with the Simeon prefix and their get can be found in every place where Arabian horses are bred. While after sixty years most breeding programs are coming to

the end or entering a preservation stage, the continued success of the farm after all these years is almost unprecedented.

Even today, approximately 25% of the horses bred are exported overseas.

This success is first and foremost due to the passion and determination of owner Marion Richmond. I must admit that when I first met Marion several years ago, I was quite intimidated and didn’t really say much at all, but over the years we have formed a very solid friendship and I enjoy my time with her greatly. I have found Marion to be generous with her knowledge of horses

and breeding, and we have spent hours in the photo room in Bellevue Hill…yes Arabian enthusiasts, there is a whole room of horse photos from Marion’s farm and her trips around the world just aching to be catalogued and shared.

The story of Simeon and its evolution has been told many times, so what follows is simply a conversation between two Arabian horse enthusiasts.

So, armed with my questions and that second piece of home-made apple cake (Marion’s determination is not limited just to horses), this interview begins.

Horses with the Simeon prefix and their get can be found on every continent where Arabian horses are bred

David Gillett: If there is one thing I have learned from you Marion in all these years is that if you want something, you have to make it happen.

Would you agree?

Marion Richmond: I would not say it exactly like that, however I think what you say is right. Sixty years ago when my father bought 26 acres in Dural I begged him for a horse. Luckily, I had been preparing for a few years which is rather incredible at such a young age. So when he wasn’t forthcoming, I raised the last of the money myself and bought Cherry, an aged chestnut part Arabian mare. I then worked hard to keep raising money to buy her oats as sadly, poor old Cherry didn’t have many teeth left. I loved her though, she was the start of everything.

I rode her bareback, mostly because the saddle that came with her needing restuffing and so bareback was a lot more comfortable.

Cherry knew every trick in the book…it could take hours to catch her, and she taught me a great deal.

Damirah – 1985 Australian Champion Mare (Hadban Enzahi x Hamdi)

I had an old glass case which I kept in a secret draw and I saved up from five years old. Money from my birthdays, or from helping my mother with the dogs…brushing them and walking them for my parents who bred Dachshunds. Occasionally I got paid, and this all went into the jar. It wasn’t just when we got the farm, they knew a long time before that I wanted a horse. I was obsessed! When they saw I looked after Cherry, we got the purebred mare.

David Gillett: And I guess she was the perfect way to introduce your parents to the idea of owning horses, which in turn brought about the purchase of your first purebred mare Fuewasa (Kataf x Cazada).

Marion Richmond: Absolutely. Fuewasa was also an aged mare when we bought her, but she did produce a chestnut filly for us, Shoshana, and the rest is history. I am still so proud of that family, even though we only breed Straight Egyptians today. Fuewasa was lovely to ride, she floated across the ground.

David Gillett: Why did you make the decision to only breed Straight Egyptians?

Marion Richmond: The reason to end those breeding programs was simply a practical one…at that time we had about 26 acres and over 60 horses and my father told me

27 Ibn Galal V – 1982 Australian Champion Mare (Ibn Galal x 10 Hosna)

I had to do something about it. There was an incident one day at the farm with Sa’ar, who was a very dominant stallion, which led me to giving him to a great friend of mine so he would have a better life. We sold everything that was not straight, apart from one mare, Simeon Shirli (Dresden x Simeon Sharon) from our original bloodlines and we also kept Damirah (Hadban Enzahi x Hamdi), however we sold all of her offspring. Recently, the last

filly of the original Fuewasa line was sold to Victoria and we are now a 100% Straight Egyptian farm.

I have always loved things of beauty... loved my Russian and non-Straight horses. Horses like Novina and Nadira, Shirli and Sa’ar will always be special to me. Especially Sa’ar, what a magnificent horse. We had great success with those horses. Simeon Savion

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Asfour (Malik x Hanan)

(Ansata Abbas Pasha x Novina of Tersk) was an Australian Champion, as was Damirah and one of her daughters. It was also a thrill having those Aswan daughters in Europe and being able to breed them to stallions over there, but now I am excited by the horses I have at home.

David Gillett: What drew you to Europe to buy those first Egyptian mares?

Marion Richmond: Up until 1970 or so, Australia was only able to import horses from the UK, and so most of the Arabians here were of Crabbet and English bloodlines and that is what was normal for me.

In the early seventies, more Egyptian Arabians were being featured in the few international magazines I could obtain at that time. At the same time, a filly named Nara (Hadban Enzahi x Naadirah) had been born not far from me and at that time, I thought she was the most exquisite Arabian I had ever seen. So I travelled to Europe to find these gems for myself in 1975 and 1976.

Simeon Shalal (Asfour x Simeon Simona)

and Maymoonah greatly and this blood is featured close up in both our earliest and our latest imports to the farm.

brother Montasar, so it has come in full circle anyway. I guess the style of horse I like has never wavered.

David Gillett: Then what drew you to choosing Asfour for your mares?

Anyway I digress…Asfour. I had wanted a son of Hanan, a very correct daughter of Alaa El Din (Nazeer x Kateefa). I had seen her in Germany at Dr Nagel’s, and her son Jamill and admired them both greatly. In turn, I had also admired the fabulous type and movement of Asfour’s sire Malik (Hadban Enzahi x Malikah) and so it was a match made in heaven. I saw Asfour as a foal flying over the snow and his movement even then was so amazing. His name means ‘swift little bird’, so he was perfectly named.

Marion Richmond: After we bought our mares it was ten years before we bought a stallion. I was always on the look out for a great colt and in fact before I bought Galal, I had seen and wanted to buy a stallion named Madmaymour (Madkour x Maymoonah). It was many years ago and I called my mother from Germany. She told me to get my mares right first, and to think about a stallion much later, and so I did. In the past couple of years I have purchased mares and a stallion from Germany with this blood, including two daughters by his full

We bought five mares on the second trip, but only 27 Ibn Galal V (Ibn Galal x 10 Hosna) has descendants at the farm today, although all of the mares produced well for the stud.

It is the daughters of 27 Ibn Galal V that make up the nucleus of the farm today, as they have done for close to thirty years now.

I purposely bought mares in Europe and not America, as I was wanting to save that resource for an outcross later for the stud.

I believed, and still believe in the importance of mare lines, and these early mares, and those who came after, tie in together. We favour the mares Yosreia, dam of Aswan

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Anaza Bay Shahh – photographed at 28 years old (Shaikh Al Badi x Bint Deenaa)

Asfour was so precious. Once he arrived at the farm he never left, until he had to have colic surgery. People came from around the

Al Salsabeel Stud would like to congratulate Marion Richmond and family on 60 years of breeding beautiful Arabians.

Simeon Samech Daughter

Simeon Samech – Sire of Significance On lease to Simeon Stud .. we are eagerly awaiting his next foal crop

Sire Anaza Bay Shahh

Simeon Salim (Simeon Samech x Simeon Shualah) – owned in partnership with Simeon Stud

Al Salsabeel Stud | James Cleland | 0407 601 016 | james@mhec.com.au

Simeon Salit (Asfour x Simeon Shavit)

world to see him and more than once they burst into tears when they did. The day he passed was also the day my father passed, so it was a very sad and poignant moment in my life.

David Gillett: Asfour and your other stallions Imperial Madaar and Anaza Bay Shahh are absolutely important stallions, but why did you take so long to keep sons from them?

Marion Richmond: I have my friend Dr Nasr Marei of Egypt to thank for that…and I really do thank him. During one of his visits we paraded the horses and he asked me, ‘Where are your colts?’ to which I, probably quite stubbornly replied, ‘I don’t keep colts, they are annoying, they need their own paddock’ and so on. But then Nasr reminded me that like all of us, my boys were getting older and perhaps I should start thinking of a succession plan…and so I did. That first year we kept a son of Asfour, Simeon Shifran who is from Simeon Shavit (Anaza Bay Shahh x Simeon Safanad) and a son of Imperial Madaar, Simeon Sahron (from Simeon Setavi by Simeon Sadik). We have since kept another son of Imperial Madaar, Simeon Shanun who is also from an Anaza Bay Shahh daughter, Simeon Safran (from Simeon Sukari). We had kept a son of Anaza Bay Shahh, his last foal, however I sold him to my great friend David Marshall as our other stallions were all from Bay Shahh daughters.

I have kept breeding though, and I have used Simeon Samech (Anaza Bay Shahh x Simeon Saada) again this season. I also used Simeon Sadakah (Asfour x Simeon Saada) this year, so that will be interesting.

Simeon Sahron (Imperial Madaar x Simeon Setavi

by Simeon Sadik)

David Gillett: What was the biggest risk you have taken when making a breeding decision?

Marion Richmond: Dr Nagel told me that the bloodlines of Hanan did not match 27 Ibn Galal V, however I like to think that my results have spoken for themselves… like Australian Champions Simeon Sukari (Asfour x 27 Ibn Galal V), Simeon Salome (Asfour x Simeon Safanad from 27 Ibn Galal V), Simeon Sehavi (Asfour x Simeon Sheba from 27 Ibn Galal V) and Simeon Sadik (Asfour x Simeon Safanad) to name a few. (Editor’s note: Simeon Sokaret (Simeon Sadik x Simeon Salome) was also an Australian Champion before his untimely death, and Simeon Sadik was Champion and Towerlands and World Reserve Champion in Paris).

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Marion and her German mares CM Moussameh, Musallah and El Dahma II

David Gillett: Many of us admire you as a breeder, but I want to know who do you admire as a breeder?

Marion Richmond: I admire the old Egyptian breeders who produced such horses as Ghazal and Hadban Enzahi. They bred horses without the use of glamorous photographs or fashionable pedigrees… they bred horses without horse shows for goodness sake. They just bred good horses… and look what they did. Just amazing really.

David Gillett: Would you use these horses in your program today if they were still alive?

Marion Richmond: Well I am…I am using them with the new German horses and with Asfour and Madaar blood.

My style of horse hasn’t changed…they were great horses. I have added some height and stretch, but essentially they are the same horses I have always bred. I have never been influenced by fashion. I know many people say that, but in my case I can absolutely attest that it is true.

David Gillett: So understanding this, what is your number one ‘must have’ in an Arabian, and what can’t you forgive?

Simeon Shifran (Asfour x Simeon Shavit

by Anaza Bay Shahh)

Aside from this I bred Asfour to his daughters, several times in fact and while some people might think this is risky, the results have been amazing.

David Gillett: How do you choose your broodmares?

that stallion…of creating the next generation or even the one after that. In the past I tried to keep one, preferably two fillies from each mare but as time went on, this became impossible. Over the years I have bought new mares, some have worked out and some have not, and I have had to let go of some families to make room for others.

Some of these families have worked very well for other breeders, but today at Simeon we concentrate on Galal and Ramses Tinah with smaller groups of Raffaalaa, Simeon Shoshana and my new German mares.

Marion Richmond: Firstly she must have something that I feel is important to the breeding program, and secondly she must excite me in some way. It may not be the way she looks, it may be a feeling I get about how I could breed her with this stallion and

I give a mare three chances to produce a foal to my liking and if she doesn’t, she may then be offered for sale. I don’t always get it right though, and mares I have sold have gone on to produce champion offspring for other breeders many times.

David Gillett: Do you make all the breeding decisions on your own?

Marion Richmond: Yes. No one helps me, I like to make my own mistakes.

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Marion Richmond: For me, they must have beauty and tractable temperament. What I can’t forgive is bad legs, and I have worked very hard on this. It is not this way on many Straight Egyptian farms around the world, and people do come to my stud looking for good legs. They come looking for movement and dark skin as well…all three attributes are so important and I don’t understand how people have moved so far from this.

We had an imported mare many years ago that I bought sight unseen…not the smartest decision. She had a couple of foals, good foals actually, however I could not get past her front legs and she didn’t fit in on our farm. She went to the Middle East and I believe has bred well there for them.

David Gillett: Over time, thinking back over your breeding program, was there one specific light bulb moment for you that changed your/the stud’s life/future?

Marion Richmond: It would have to be the trips I took in 1975 and 1976, where I saw all

Simeon Shiraz – Australian Champion Junior Filly (Asfour x Simeon Shuala)

David Gillett: Your proudest moment?

Marion Richmond: Looking at the foals by Shifran and Sahron.

David Gillett: Your saddest memory?

Marion Richmond: The saddest moment was quite recent actually, when I lost a filly by Mulayh Ibn Maareesa from Simeon Saada. We called her The Fawn, she was amazing, a perfect combination of the work we had been doing, and we found her dead in the paddock from snakebite.

David Gillett: What do you enjoy most about the Arabian?

Marion Richmond: Their beauty and their kindness…yes, that is what I enjoy the most.

the most exquisite Straight Egyptians. These horses were of a quality like I had never seen, and had no idea actually existed such as Aswan (Nazeer x Yosreia).

A lot of these first visions continue now in the breeding program.

Aswan, Deenaa, Shaikh Al Badi, Imperial Madheen, Ansata Nile Mist, Bint El Bataa...

I saw them all on these trips and they formed the idea of the horses I wanted to use in my

Simeon Seifan (Simeon Shifran x CM Moussameh)

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breeding program. As I mentioned, it hasn’t changed.

David Gillett: Okay quick question time. I don’t want you to think about the answer, just say the first thing that comes to mind.

What is your happiest horse memory?

Marion Richmond: So many…but I was happiest riding Asfour around our farm.

Simeon Suzannah (Asfour x Simeon Shuala)

David Gillett: Finally Marion, what advice would you give to new breeders out there reading this interview?

Marion Richmond: I would say what I think most breeders would also say… start with a vision, do your homework and don’t be strayed by show ring success.

Know what you want, and start with the very best mare or filly you can afford.

Don’t go and buy several cheaper mares, buy the very best single mare you can…she will build you a family to be proud of.

Simeon Sasur (Simeon Sahron x Simeon Shiraz by Asfour)

Al Atiq Arabians

by Anne-Louise Toner

Anne-Louise Toner with Simeon Selena

M

any years ago, as a horse-crazy little girl living just outside Melbourne, my mother bought a horse magazine to keep me entertained while waiting for a delayed flight at Tullamarine. Inside the front cover was an ad for an Arabian stallion. He was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, and from that point on I had eyes only for Arabians. I went to every show I could convince my mother we needed to attend, and every farm open house, while riding whatever the local riding schools had on offer. So, the first Arabian horses I fell in love with were the Arabian horses that we had in Australia at that time.

After moving to America and finally settling down near Washington, D.C., it seemed the right time to find an Arabian.

Imperial Egyptian Stud was not far away and the horses there reminded me of the

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beautiful, athletic, kind horses I had fallen in love with in Australia. The first mare who came to Al Atiq was an Imperial Madheen daughter, Imperial Mahzeera, out of the Israeli National Champion and East Coast (US) Champion Mare, Maar Bilahh.

As kind as she was beautiful, Mahzeera was broken to saddle between fulfilling broodmare duties, and her sweet, willing nature was proof enough that these were the horses I was looking for. Mahzeera was joined by our first Aussie import, Simeon Sachi, and several more of Imperial’s beautiful mares, Imperial Safillla, Imperial Phandala and Imperial Orianah. All of the mares had been very successful show mares in their younger years, and despite being quite differently bred, were typical of the Imperial herd in having good, deep bodies, dryness of bone and fineness of skin, large eyes and excellent movement.

Simeon Shaddai (Anaza Bay Shahh x Simeon Simona)

Imperial Orianah and Imperial Safillla PC: Anne-Louise Toner

Simeon Shavvot (Imperial Madaar x Simeon Soosa)

Several daughters have been retained, and are now the majority of our broodmare band.

Sachi is the full brother of one of Australia’s most famous exports, Simeon Sehavi, and was the culmination of my childhood dreams when he arrived at the farm. His progeny have been successful not only in halter but in performance as well, from the sport horse divisions to endurance. Sachi himself is broken to saddle and harness, and is the most charming, kind fellow imaginable.

Imperial Egyptian Stud became both mentors and good friends, and upon the closing of the farm, the grand old man, *Ibn Safinaz came to spend his last years with us. He was an incredible horse, a true creature of the desert and although our farm is typical of Maryland, with rolling green grassy hills and tall dense woods, to watch him walk up the hill of his paddock one could almost see the dust of the desert kicked up with every stride. Two grand daughters remain on the farm.

A few years later, I was again walking the paddocks at Simeon and Kimbalee Gibson was riding a young mare, Simeon Selena through the trees at the back of the property. She was pure magic, cantering in and out through sunlight and shadows, and the following year I convinced Marion to let her come to Maryland also. She was joined not long after by Simeon Shavvot, a beautiful Imperial Madaar son imported

by Jody Cruz of Rancho Bulakenyo, and who had a lovely daughter for us

Pharalisa Al Atiq (Simeon Sachi x Imperial Phandala)

before we acquired him from Jody. He has subsequently proven himself to be a fabulous cross over our Imperial mares as well as the homebred Sachi daughters.

The final Australian to join the farm was the Anaza Bay Shahh daughter, Simeon Shaddai, who is currently heavily in foal. She is completely spectacular and enchants everyone who meets her.

There are spectacular shows and events, farms, and talented, welcoming breeders

here in the United States, and it is always great to see old friends from Australia and New Zealand while they are here, and to visit US farms and functions together. That said, after more than 20 years away, each trip back to Australia reinforces that Australian breeders continue to produce some of the most beautiful representatives of the Arabian breed that can be found anywhere and we are very proud of the Aussie horses and their progeny that make their home here at Al Atiq.

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An Interview with

Dr. Nasr Marei

by Judith Wich-Wenning

D

r. Nasr Marei is one of the few true connoisseurs of Arabian horse breeding in our time. His stud farm Albadeia in Egypt was founded by his grandfather Mr. Ahmed Marei more than 80 years ago. Dr. Nasr Marei has led the breeding program to new heights.

He is not only a highly acclaimed breeder but also a well-respected judge and an imaginative photographer. In 2015 Dr. Marei received the prestigious Milestone Award by The Pyramid Society. He was also the recipient of

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the Life Time Achievement Award from Arabian Horse Alliance, USA in 2013. Being in Dr. Marei’s company is always a great pleasure: warmth, kindness, honesty and reliability are just a few characteristics which come to mind when talking to Dr. Nasr Marei.

His dedication for Arabians as well as his vast knowledge about these horses is impressive. In this interview Dr. Marei shares with us his personal views and gives us an insight into the latest developments at his stud farm.

Dr Nasr Marei with Simeon Sharav

Judith Wich-Wenning: Dr. Marei, please describe for us your first memories related to Arabian horses.

Dr. Nasr Marei: My relationship with horses dates back to my childhood. My father was already breeding Arabian horses when I was born. My earliest recollection was that I used to love to go to the stables on our farm situated about 50 km away from our stud farm today. I was fascinated by this creature and would spend part of the day with them.

I have pictures when I was three years old on the back of one of our foundation mares that my grandfather had bought from The Royal Agricultural Society (the EAO today).

My love for the horse grew up with me. I learned riding when I was ten years old at the Equestrian Club in Cairo but rode mostly mixed breed and Warmblood horses for my training. I continued riding and became a competitive rider in show jumping and dressage, winning many upper level jumping competitions. To encourage me, my father bought me two Warmblood mares to ride.

Meanwhile, my father continued breeding Arabians on our new farm, Albadeia in Giza near the great pyramids. Of course, I would ride our Arabians in the desert at the pyramids for hours. Until this point in time I just loved our Arabian horses but was not involved in breeding decisions or the management of the stud farm. That came later in the 60s after I returned from the USA to pursue my graduate academic work for the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of California in Davis.

Upon my return to Egypt in 1971, I became more involved in the breeding program and

joined my father in managing the farm. He held several top governmental posts and was quite busy and therefore depended on me to care for the stud farm. My breeding education, skills and experience had just begun to be serious then.

Having made this brief introduction, my answer to your question is that the love of the horse was always in me since I started walking. The passion grew all the time and my fascination with the Arabians never ceased but in fact became stronger by the day. Now that I am retired from active business and living on the farm since my father passed away in 1993, my bond with the horses has become stronger.

Judith Wich-Wenning: What do you enjoy most about Arabians?

Dr. Nasr Marei: The Arabian horse to me is not simply the love of the horse itself but also I am fascinated by its traditions and heritage.

I love their history and the legacy that goes with it.

I admire their beauty, harmony, intelligence and disposition. They are companions and family. I am extremely happy to get a new foal and terribly sad when I lose a horse. I worry immensely when one gets sick.

I check on my horses every morning and before ending my day. They are my lifestyle.

Judith Wich-Wenning: Some years a go, you exchanged several horses with Simeon Stud, Australia. Please explain how this has influenced your breeding program.

World Champion Mare Gelgelah Albadeia (Imperial Madori x Anhar Albadeia), bred by Dr. Nasr Marei and owned by Shirley Watts of Halsdon Arabians, Great Britain

Dr. Nasr Marei: My father entrusted me with a treasure and left me with a great foundation herd. I started reviewing the qualities of my horses and breeding program. With my greater international exposure to the world of Arabian horses, I realised that I needed to get rid of some undesirable characteristics and enrich my gene pool with more desirable ones. To do so, I had to reach out and infuse some distant bloodlines. In pursuing this I had to import some horses from abroad.

One day, the accomplished breeder, Marion Richmond of Simeon Stud, Australia was visiting Albadeia. She wanted to acquire the king of the farm, Farid Albadeia.

I was not able to part from him, being such an amazing stallion and a great sire.

Marion settled to taking one of his fillies, Wed Albadeia (Farid Albadeia x Momtazet Albadeia). She also fell in love with one of the best mares, Ibtehag Albadeia (Badran Albadeia x Halawat Albadeia). We came to an agreement by which I would exchange them for two horses of hers sired by Asfour whom I loved very much. The superb mare, Simeon Safir (Asfour x Simeon Safanad) and the yearling colt, Simeon Sharav (Asfour x Simeon Shuala) were my choice.

Simeon Safir is a flea-bitten, gorgeous mare.

She is 22 years old and still breeding some of the greatest foals. She never disappointed me. She gave me finesse and good movement. When she came, she was in foal to Anaza Bay Shahh. The resulting filly was the amazing Hekayet Albadeia. Both won the Egyptian National and International shows in Egypt several times. Their progeny are still proving that I had made the right choice.

Unfortunately, I lost Hekayet recently.

Ibtehag Albadeia photographed in 2016 (Badran Albadeia X Halawat Albadeia), National Champion in Egypt & Australia. PC: Elsa Marchenay

A classic beauty: Dahoom Albadeia (Farid Albadeia x Simeon Safir) PC: Dr. Nasr Marei

Meanwhile, Simeon Sharav produced some great foals. The strongest influence he consistently passed on to his get was the great shoulder, upright long necks, beautiful heads and lovely body. Sharav was leased to Ariela Arabians in Israel, which has a remarkable breeding program, for over two years and has done very well with them and for other breeders. Sharav himself has to his credit a good record in the show ring in Egypt and in Europe. He was sold to Iran five years ago. I still have four stallions sired by Sharav and many mares. Again I proved to myself that outcrossing with some selected bloodlines would improve my herd.

The success of this exchange incited me to do more. So I leased several stallions from other breeding programs. I leased Majd Al Rayyan (Safir x Ansata Nawara), Laheeb (Imperial Imdal x AK Latifa) and Al Maraam (Imperial Imdal x The Vision HG). They have impacted my herd in a substantially positive way.

I am continuing the same path now. I leased the stunning young stallion Bariq Al Shaqab (Al Adeed Al Shaqab x Wahayeb Al Shaqab).

I bred him this season to several mares and am waiting patiently to see his foals on the ground.

Judith Wich-Wenning: Please tell us about the latest developments at Albadeia!

Dr. Nasr Marei: The process of learning breeding is a continuous process. There are many new things one learns every day.

I believe that a breeder should always work on the refinement of his/her herd.

So my objective in improving the quality of my horses is still, and will always be, underway.

As mentioned above, reaching out and infusing new selected qualities is a must for my endeavour. I also became more selective in making breeding decisions. My experience was enriched over the years by judging major international shows around the world and visiting and studying what other breeders are applying. I always keep in mind to maintain my ‘Albadeia’ looks and types.

Thanks to the priceless foundation horses I inherited from my father, I was able to take this further into the future. I am gratified to hear my fellow breeders around the world saying that I took Albadeia to a new and higher level.

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As we all know, breeding horses is a longterm process. One will never know if he/she has chosen the right horses and made the right breeding decision except at least eight years or two generations down the road.

Having already infused new bloodlines and outcrossed my horses to distant relatives, I am witnessing at present my achievements that took place over the last 20 years.

Halim, Rashdan and Adl. I have more than six generations for each. Besides of course the get of my original horses that are purely Albadeia and EAO.

My plan for the future is to stop adding new bloodlines and use my current amended gene pool so that I will not lose my identity.

Judith Wich-Wenning: What is the key to success for Albadeia Stud?

Judith Wich-Wenning: Which young horses are especially promising for the future?

Dr. Nasr Marei: The list is long. Basically all horses that qualify as of good breeding potential can be significant in designing and implementing a breeding program. All young horses (four years and above) that resulted from the use of the leased stallions have become the new foundation for the future. I have the daughters and sons of Laheeb as well as his grandsons and daughters. I also have Al Maaram’s sons and daughters and expect their get soon.

From Majd Al Rayyan, I have at least four generations. Same goes for many other stallions bought or bred to my mares, like Simeon Sharav, Imperial Madori, Bar Sama

All are important and useful for breeding.

They constitute the genetic tools that I can select from to better and improve the qualities of my horses.

Dr. Nasr Marei: Love, dedication, financial sacrifice, acquiring broader experience, studying and analysing with an open mind and learning, being objective and truthful and critical to myself and finally more love to the horse and to the breed.

Judith Wich-Wenning: Where do you think the Arabian horse is heading? What would you want to change, if possible?

Dr. Nasr Marei: The Arabian horse ‘TYPE’ has changed significantly with time. The best horses of the 60s and 70s are not the same horses that are being bred today. The World Champions of yesteryears cannot even qualify today for major shows.

Breeders have selected to evolve in many ways. In the past, one could distinguish between a Spanish and a Polish horse.

Albadeia Stallions:

Bareeq Albadeia (Laheeb x Sahlalah Albadeia)

Old and New Farid Albadeia (Ameer Albadeia x Farida)

Mohanad Albadeia (Magd Albadeia x Simeon Safir)

Magd Albadeia (Rashdan x Bint Makhsous)

Haytham Albadeia (Simeon Sharav x Galagel Albadeia)

Rayyan Albadeia (Majd Al Rayyan x Hekayet Albadeia)

ALBADEIA STUD, Egypt Dr. Nasr Marei | nasrmarei@gmail.com facebook.com/albadeiastud | Mob: +2 0111 062 2228

The very typey Haytham Albadeia (Simeon Sharav x Galagel Albadeia).

This Egyptian Event Europe Champion was leased by the Polish State Stud Janow Podlaski PC: Stuart Vesty

Or between Egyptian and Russian types, etc. Now, the differences in their distinct types have become less and the result of the current breeding approaches is what I call the ‘UNIVERSAL ARABIAN TYPE’ resulting from mixing all Arabian types together including Egyptian, Russian, Polish, Spanish, American, etc. bloodlines. The distinct differences between these types are diminishing and all breed more or less the same horse.

The show ring, whether we like it or not, has affected the TYPE of the breed.

Many breeders just follow the vogue, trend or the winning type, and breed the horse that represents the type that wins in the show ring.

I am not saying that the breeder should not evolve and stay static. What I really mean is, a breeder has to be dynamic and evolving after setting goals and venture within certain parameters that will provide him/her with the horse of his/her dream regardless of his show ring performance. Breeders need more genetic tools (a larger genetic pool) to be able to use in refining and breeding their ideal horse. The constant use of few selected bloodlines will result in diminishing the size of the genetic pool and hence cutting down the number of options that a breeder can use.

Variation in type is needed and expanding the gene pool should be an objective.

Trends or fashion come and go. Russian Arabians dominated the show ring at one point. The Golden Cross horses

To summarise what was said before and to answer your question, I do have concern that the existing Arabian horse types and diversity, which are very important for future breeders, may disappear.

This was facilitated by the easier communication and exchange between the breeders globally. Artificial insemination, export/import of frozen semen, embryo transfer etc. have become easier and with high rates of success.

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followed that. A new vogue followed: the Polish Arabians, which was followed by the Egyptians. Now, the Universal horse is dominating the ring. Each of these fashions would last a few years. A breeder will have to change his strategy accordingly and will never have his/her own identity.

All of these breeders will be breeding the same horse.

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

I would like breeders: ■ To preserve the threatened old bloodlines.

■ Evolve and change in the herd but within certain limits and try to breed a type that reflects the breeder’s choice and minimise the impact of show ring effect.

■ The show winners are not necessarily the best breeding horses. Many breeders are not showing their horses. And at the same time, not all winners are good breeding horses.

■ We should emphasise performance disciplines in shows. The Arabian is not only a pretty horse to look at but it is a serious performance horse as well.

This in itself will help in diversifying and enlarging the available gene pool.

Judith Wich-Wenning: What are your plans for the future?

Dr. Nasr Marei: I am now in my 70s and a major concern is how to carry on Albadeia and keep it true to its program. I am in the final stages of preparing a format for continuing the Albadeia program with the same goals and passion as has carried us through the past 80 years. It is the legacy I owe to my horses.

Home of Simeon Solomon (dec) & Simeon Safrir

Simeon Safrir (Imperial Madaar (dec) x Simeon Shalal)

Photo: Debbie Comini

Young Slipstream mares

VISITORS WELCOME – BY APPOINTMENT PLEASE Contact Ruth Newman, Kyneton, VIC 0427 559 470 or ruthnewman4@bigpond.com

W W W. SL I P S T R E A M A R A B I A N S .C O M

Southern Cross HORSE TREKS

Horse Riding Holidays NSW

Photography by Katie Kaizer Photography

My horses give people an amazing holiday experience

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or many of those reading this edition of Arabians Studs & Stallions, the practicalities of life may mean owning a horse is not a possibility. Or perhaps in our increasingly urbanised world, it may be difficult for you and your friends to get together, throw a saddle on your horse and simply ‘go bush’. For those of us who dream of quality time with horses, I am pleased to inform you – the dream is within reach!

In the lush green valley of Lorne NSW, in the Port Macquarie hinterland, is a horse riding holiday establishment with a difference…

Southern Cross Horse Treks, approximately five hours’ drive north of Sydney, uses only Arabian horses.

Owned and managed by Kathy Holtrust, the Kerewong farm has been in operation for several years now and is going from strength to strength, not least of all because of the gallant Arabian horses who service Kathy’s clients.

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

David Gillett: Where did it all begin for you Kathy?

Kathy Holtrust: I was born and grew up in The Netherlands (Holland) where horses have always been in my life. My father and uncle had horses, and my German grandfather from my mother’s side also had a long history with horses. As a boy he helped his family in East Prussia to evacuate their Trakehner horses to safety when the army was coming to claim them for the war.

We moved to the countryside when I was 12 years old and my grandfather gave me my first horse, a Haflo-Arabe (Haflinger/ Arabian cross). All through my teenage years I competed in dressage, show jumping and cross-country with this one horse. Together, we made it to Advanced level in Dressage and were also quite successful in Eventing. The family also had a 17.1 hands Dutch Warmblood, but even though I am six foot tall, I always preferred the smaller and compact horses.

After graduating from University, I went to Australia to work and travel for one year. I worked in Echuca doing tourist carriage rides with the Cobb & Co Coach and looked after a mob of 40 horses.

David Gillett: How did the idea for Southern Cross Horse Treks come about?

Kathy Holtrust: When I spent the year of work and travel in Australia it very quickly became clear to me that I wanted to stay in Australia. I also realised that I really should do something with horses after all, because understanding the horses just comes naturally to me. And it is so much more pleasant than working as a Psychologist, sitting inside most of the day.

However I did not know what kind of work I wanted to do with horses. I didn’t want a riding school, because I feel sorry for the horses who have to cope with the beginner riders bouncing around on their backs

and pulling their mouths. I wanted to do something where my horses have a job and are working, but are happy with their job and are appreciated and respected by their riders.

As our old family horses had became too old to ride, I went on a horse riding holiday in Spain and the idea came about.

David Gillett: So then you had your idea, how did you go about making it happen?

Kathy Holtrust: My then husband and I emigrated in 2000 with the plan to start the horse riding holiday business. We travelled around in NSW, South Australia and Queensland then moved to Port Macquarie.

We purchased the 60-acre property Kerewong’ in the Lorne Valley in late 2001 and quickly came by the first four Arabian horses.

David Gillett: What does your business look like today?

Kathy Holtrust: After two years of exploring trails and getting both the horses and facilities ready, Southern Cross Horse Treks opened for business in early 2004 with six horses, offering all-inclusive horse riding holiday tours of five riding days and six nights. The rides are mostly farm-based, riding out into the surrounding and extensive State Forest returning to the Kerewong modern farm accommodation each night.

Riding on the beach is many people’s favourite tour

One of the ride days of the week tour is on the beach. On hot days, this is a most wonderful ride and many people’s favourite!

David Gillett: I love that you specialise with Arabian horses in your business.

Were they always your first choice?

Kathy Holtrust: I often forget that my first horse was half-Arabian. To me he was unique and growing up with this one horse meant we had a very strong bond.

As I said, while uncommon in Australia these horse riding holidays for experienced riders are popular overseas. When targeting experienced horse riders as your clients it is really most important to have high quality horses.

I wanted to create something really special, something experienced horse riders can’t find anywhere else in Australia.

When I was choosing which horses to get for the horse trekking business I looked at several options. I wanted to get horses of the same breed, so they

all go nice together. While I wanted something typically Australian on one hand, on the other hand I also wanted something a little different – to do something different, a different kind of horse riding business with a different kind of horse.

The Australian Stock Horse came to mind first, as they are perceived as the true Australian breed. But unfamiliar with the breed, the stock horses I tried at that time were not what I was looking for. Then there are the Thoroughbred racehorses, but as I said, I was looking for something a little different.

David Gillett: What made you finally decide on Arabians as the perfect breed?

Kathy Holtrust: To find out what kind of trail riding places were already operating in Australia I did some trail rides with operators in Victoria, NSW and Queensland. Some of them had Arabian endurance horses. In a way, it seemed, they used the clients to train their endurance horses.

It is really important to have high quality horses

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

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Riding on my first purebred Arabians, I was impressed with the stamina, surefootedness, energy and personality of these horses. It was so much fun to ride them on the trails! The Arabian horse got my full attention and I researched the breed further.

I learned that Australia has a lot of Arabians and that they are not only show Arabians. In Europe my perception was that Arabians are more known as show horses, not so much horses for riding. I also found out that the Australian-bred Arabians have a very good reputation in the international competitive endurance world and I became interested in endurance riding.

So I learned that Arabian horses are beautiful, have lots of energy and stamina and cope well with the Australian climate.

I would not want to have it any other way. My horses are the best employees I could wish for, they show up for work every single time, they make people happy, they can fly and give people an amazing holiday experience.

I like to believe that my Arabian horses are proud ambassadors for the breed.

A few of the horses in particular move like you are on a cloud. I personally like that best about my horses: they give the rider the feeling that running up those hills is effortless and easy and fun.

David Gillett: How do you select horses for your team?

Kathy Holtrust: When I started to look around to buy Arabian horses in Australia I

My horses are the best employees I could wish for

had no idea where to go. I am reluctant to buy from advertisements and prefer to buy directly from breeders because I want to know the horse’s history.

When a horse has had several different owners it can come with bad habits and experiences that are difficult to overcome and make it more complicated for my clients and business.

I met Richard Sharman at a friend’s place and I asked him if he knew any suitable Arabian horses for sale (I remember always asking for a ‘quiet Arabian’).

Richard wrote some names and phone numbers on a piece of paper and one of the names was Rosemary McCullough from Romac Arabians.

Rosemary had a five-year-old chestnut Arabian gelding named Charlie. Charlie was the first Arabian I bought, together with the charismatic Manni who was also available.

That was the start of a long-standing friendship. Now almost 15 years later, seven of my ten Arabian horses come from this same breeder.

Rosemary breeds strong boned Arabian saddle horses with a mixture of English and Egyptian bloodlines. Almost all my horses are Ralvon Pilgrim descendants.

I love my Arjai Summit son and daughter and grandson and granddaughter. Arjai Summit was known as the ‘Moving Machine’.

My Arjai Summit descendants are good types, have amazing big movement and are fantastic riding horses.

The breeder of my Andalusian horse made a remark when I told her I have Arabians for my business: ‘How can you use Arabians for this business? They are way too intelligent.

They will work out the people in no time and get all the bad habits.’

There are two non-Arabians (one retired and one working), which are bigger, more solid and strong horses, who can carry more weight. Heavy riders meant that something more solid was needed and I initially got a Quarter Horse cross who is now retired and was replaced by a 16.2 hand Andalusian/ Thoroughbred cross. However, although this horse is strong, he struggles with the heat, humidity and high paced longer sections of the rides. His recovery rate is always a lot slower than the Arabs who just bounce back after a long gallop.

David Gillett: What kind of feedback do you get from your clients at the end of their time at Southern Cross Horse Treks?

Kathy Holtrust: I used to worry what the clients would think of the horses but now I know that everybody is always amazed by the quality of the horses, how easy they are, how responsive, how fit, how much fun. Additionally, some of my horses are ridden in a bitless bridle, which most Europeans are unfamiliar with, so that always impresses them too.

Of course Arabian lovers love the horses, but even the people who had no previous experience with the breed are pleasantly surprised. Many people still have the stereotypical belief that Arabians are flighty, nervous horses. Some just fall in love with the breed after their experiences here.

My favourite piece of feedback is from a New Zealand newspaper article, written by a horse-riding guest/journalist: ‘The Arab horses of the Lorne Valley are forward going Lamborghinis of the equine species.’

Last year a very nice group of Americans came for a horse tour. One of them, a 71-year-old veterinarian, was thinking about getting a new horse because she needed to soon retire her Morgan horse and she was not sure what kind of horse to get.

Only a few weeks after the horse tour she emailed me some pictures of her new black Arabian gelding!

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

Leading Sires of

Purebred Halter Champions

by David Gillett

Crave FF (No. 1 Leading Sire) (Mash x Bremervale Charmed)

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have always been fascinated with statistics, and how they can often prove, or disprove, common myths that surround any given situation.

We have all heard the theories about what is being shown, disappearing sire lines and which sires are the most successful, so I thought it was time we looked at the cold, hard data.

these sire lines according to their most recognisable ancestor (e.g. Nazeer) rather than original, desert-bred horses.

The following pages represent in numbers, an analysis of the most successful bloodlines on the Arabian show scene for the last 12 months. For pedigree enthusiasts, I have also chosen to include data on each horse’s sire line. Please note that where appropriate, I have organised

Classes featured in this study include all age group halter classes, and excludes speciality classes such as Classic Head or Classic Trot, or any jackpot or sweepstakes events. Performance results were not available in their entirety at the time of writing and so in fairness, we will

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

The points on the following charts are awarded as follows: Gold or Championship, 10 points; Silver or Reserve Champion, 7 points; Bronze Champion, 5 points; Top Ten or Placing, 2 points.

not include an analysis of performance in this issue. The results have been taken from three of Australia’s largest Arabian horse events; the NSW National Stud Show, the East Coast Championships and the Australian National Arabian Championships.

In the future, it is hoped that large shows in other parts of the country can be incorporated into this study, however for now these are the shows that have been analysed. To that end, we do not make any claim that the horses represented here are ranked in any other system than which we describe in these pages.

All results are as supplied at the time of writing.

PUREBRED ARABIANS NSW National Stud Horse Show Name

Sire x Dam

Sire Line

Top Ten

Total

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

El Shaklan/Nazeer

2

2

0

34

Klass

TS Al Malik x Karmaa

Barich de Washoe/Ursus

1

1

1

19

Allegiance MI

Magnum Forty Four x Audacia

Aswan/Nazeer

0

2

1

16

Echos of Marwan

Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir

Morafic/Nazeer

1

0

2

14

Simeon Sahron

Imperial Madaar x Simeon Setavi

Morafic/Nazeer

1

0

1

12

DA Valentino

Versace x DA Love

Bey Shah/Image

1

0

1

12

Marwan Al Shaqab

Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame

Morafic/Nazeer

1

0

0

10

Gold N Wings

Fame Maker R x On Angels Wings

Bey Shah/Image

1

0

0

10

Fame Maker R

Fame VF x Inschallah El Shaklan

Bey Shah/Image

1

0

0

10

MF Aryan El Thessa

JD Chalice x Thessalya El Jamaal

Morafic/Nazeer

0

1

1

9

Echos of Marwan (No. 3 Leading Sire) (Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir) PC: Jess Wilson

Champion

Reserve

DA Valentino (No. 5 Leading Sire) (Versace x DA Love)

East Coast Arabian Championships Name

Sire x Dam

Sire Line

Champion

Reserve

Top Ten

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Allegiance MI

Total

El Shaklan/Nazeer

2

3

3

47

Magnum Forty Four x Audacia

Aswan/Nazeer

3

0

1

32

Echos of Marwan

Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir

Morafic/Nazeer

2

1

1

29

DA Valentino

Versace x DA Love

Bey Shah/Image

2

0

2

24

Saudi El Perseus

Perseus El Jamaal x Silk El Jamaal

Morafic/Nazeer

1

1

0

17

Magnum Forty Four

Magnum Psyche x WH Nashahna

Padron/Aswan/Nazeer

1

1

0

17

Fame Maker R

Fame VF x Inschallah El Shaklan

Bey Shah/Image

1

1

0

17

RHR Heir of Marwan

Marwan Al Shaqab x LC Psychesheiress

Morafic/Nazeer

0

2

0

14

TS Al Malik

Hello Barich x BF Tiffany Select

Barich de Washoe/Ursus

1

0

0

10

MF Aryan El Thessa

JD Chalice x Thessalya El Jamaal

Morafic/Nazeer

1

0

0

10

Marwan Al Shaqab

Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame

Morafic/Nazeer

1

0

0

10

Fairview Ibn Shakla Khan

Shakla Khan x Windella Silver Shadow

Morafic/Nazeer

1

0

0

10

Allegiance MI (No. 2 Leading Sire) (Magnum Forty Four x Audacia)

Australian National Championships

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Name

Sire x Dam

Sire Line

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Top Ten

Total

Klass

TS Al Malik x Karmaa

Barich de Washoe/Ursus

3

1

0

0

37

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

El Shaklan/Nazeer

1

2

1

3

35

Echos of Marwan

Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir

Morafic/Nazeer

1

1

2

0

22

Allegiance MI

Magnum Forty Four x Audacia

Aswan/Nazeer

2

0

0

0

20

Magnum Forty Four

Magnum Psyche x WH Nashahna

Padron/Aswan/Nazeer

1

0

1

0

15

DA Valentino

Versace x DA Love

Bey Shah/Image

0

1

1

0

12

Chelleason Crown Jewel

Gai El Jullyen x Sophia WV

Morafic/Nazeer

1

0

0

1

12

Perseus El Jamaal

Ali Jamaal x Perfectshahn SRA

Morafic/Nazeer

1

0

0

0

10

Guiliano

Legacy of Fame x SC Psavannah

Ofir/Kuhailan-Haifi

0

1

0

1

9

Vitorio TO

DA Valentino x SOL Natique

Bey Shah/Image

0

1

0

0

7

Saudi El Perseus

Perseus El Jamaal x Silk El Jamaal

Morafic/Nazeer

0

0

1

1

7

Marwan Al Shaqab

Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame

Morafic/Nazeer

0

1

0

0

7

Gold N Wings

Fame Maker R x On Angels Wings

Bey Shah/Image

0

1

0

0

7

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

Overall Leading Sires of Purebred Halter Winners Combining the overall points from the three charts, we are proud to present the top twenty sires of Halter Champions in Australia for 2016.

Nationals

East Coast

Australian Championships

Total

El Shaklan/Nazeer

34

47

35

116

Magnum Forty Four x Audacia

Aswan/Nazeer

16

32

20

68

Echos of Marwan

Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir

Morafic/Nazeer

14

29

22

65

Klass

TS Al Malik x Karmaa

Barich de Washoe/Ursus

19

7

37

63

DA Valentino

Versace x DA Love

Bey Shah/Image

12

24

12

48

Magnum Forty Four

Magnum Psyche x WH Nashahna

Padron/Aswan/Nazeer

7

17

15

39

Fame Maker R

Fame VF x Inschallah El Shaklan

Bey Shah/Image

10

17

2

29

Marwan Al Shaqab

Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame

Morafic/Nazeer

10

10

7

27

Saudi El Perseus

Perseus El Jamaal x Silk El Jamaal

Morafic/Nazeer

0

17

7

24

MF Aryan El Thessa

JD Chalice x Thessalya El Jamaal

Morafic/Nazeer

9

10

2

21

Guiliano

Legacy of Fame x SC Psavannah

Ofir/Kuhailan-Haifi

4

7

9

20

Gold N Wings

Fame Maker R x On Angels Wings

Bey Shah/Image

10

2

7

19

RHR Heir of Marwan

Marwan Al Shaqab x LC Psychesheiress

Morafic/Nazeer

2

14

2

18

Simeon Sahron

Imperial Madaar x Simeon Setavi

Morafic/Nazeer

12

0

4

16

TS Al Malik

Hello Barich x BF Tiffany Select

Barich de Washoe/Ursus

2

10

2

14

Chelleason Crown Jewel

Gai El Jullyen x Sophia WV

Morafic/Nazeer

0

2

12

14

Jadaan Al Shaqab

Ashaal Al Rayyan x Torfa Al Shaqab

Ansata Ibn Halima/ Nazeer

0

7

6

13

Shanghai EA

WH Justice x Salymah

Aswan/Nazeer

0

7

5

12

Fairview Ibn Shakla Khan

Shakla Khan x Windella Silver Shadow

Morafic/Nazeer

0

10

0

10

Perseus El Jamaal

Ali Jamaal x Perfectshahn SRA

Morafic/Nazeer

0

0

10

10

Name

Sire x Dam

Sire Line

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Allegiance MI

Klass (No. 4 Leading Sire) (TS Al Malik x Karmaa)

Saudi El Perseus (No. 9 Leading Sire) (Perseus El Jamaal x Silk El Jamaal)

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155

Leading the chart by a significant margin, the overall leading sire of Halter Champions across the three shows in the study was Crave FF (Mash x Bremervale Charmed), bred and owned by Future Farms.

Allegiance MI is proving himself to be a worthy successor to his sire Magnum Forty Four who even still, now a few years after his untimely death, can be found in the top ten of most successful overall sires on our chart.

The progeny of the elegant bay Echos of Marwan have brought this imported stallion into a very close third place. Like Allegiance MI, this stallion is only at the beginning of his breeding career so I look forward to seeing their progeny as they develop, as these stallions appear to have the potential to make a significant impact on our breed.

Coming in at number four is the alabaster white Klass, whose daughters have the entire world talking while in fifth place is the American stallion DA Valentino, sire

Magnum Forty Four (No. 6 Leading Sire) (Magnum Psyche x WH Nashahna)

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

of recent import Spades LRA and sire of several champion progeny via frozen semen.

Fourteen of the top twenty stallions are Nazeer sire line. DA Valentino, Fame Maker R and of course his son Gold N Wings are all Image sire line through Bey Shah.

Mulawa’s homebred stallion Klass (TS AL Malik x Karmaa) is from the Spanish sire line of Ursus, as of course is his sire, TS Al Malik. Standing out from the pack is the bay Mulawa import Guiliano, who is of the old Polish sire line of Ofir, to Kuhailan-Haifi.

Simeon Sahron, owned by Marion Richmond of Simeon Stud and Jadaan Al Shaqab, owned by Al Shaqab Stud and currently in Europe are the only Straight Egyptians in the chart. In fact they are the only ‘straight’ anything, with each of the other horses being a mixture of excellent bloodlines.

Three of the top five stallions are born here in Australia. All of the Australian born stallions have at least one imported

parent aside from Crave FF, who not only has an Australian born sire and dam, his grandsire and granddam on both sides are also Australian born. This may be interesting to those that believe it is imported stallions that produce winners, as these results prove this is in fact not the case, at least when it comes to the higher end of the chart. That said, when looking at the overall top twenty stallions, only seven stallions were born in Australia.

Breeding and showing horses is an exciting and rewarding practice, and runs the full gamut of emotions. Breeders and owners here in Australia are continuing to use a wide variety of stallions and bloodlines to produce top quality horses, and I am sure will continue to do so for many years to come.

Congratulations to the owners, breeders and exhibitors of all of these fine stallions mentioned in these pages, and to their wonderful progeny.

Photo: Sharon Meyers

K S TO C ALLY N O I S A O CC R S A L E FO IONS S TALLT U D AT S lcome rs We o it is V

MARIAN DUNCAN International

Equine

Artist

Original Art For Sale • Commission Work • Limited Edition Prints

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

157

Ride Race Live!

by Shirley Sprenger

Alam and Jess with Suncrest Sadaqa’s Pride

I

f you have been to an endurance event in the last few years, chances are you have seen teams wearing black polo shirts emblazoned in gold with the slogan RIDE RACE LIVE. Upon closer view, you will find on each sleeve, the increasingly familiar A over J emblem that stands for Al Jeda Arabians.

Al Jeda is the love child of Alamdar and Jessica Dastani, a unique young husband and wife team, who not only love endurance riding, but who had a dream.

Alam and Jessica have taken a chance and not only have they survived, they have thrived creating a name and reputation synonymous with multiple completions at every endurance ride they attend, both locally and internationally. This is no mean feat considering the majority of horses campaigned by Al Jeda in their local competitions are young horses, most of who are still being qualified to compete in open events. Their biggest achievement to date could possibly be the largest number of entries at the Tom Quilty 50th Anniversary Endurance Ride with eight horses starting with the best result being 5th Light Weight Division.

Alam moved to Australia in 2009 and in 2010 proposed to and married Jessica in a garden ceremony in Albury, NSW.

Alam and Jessica have taken a chance and not only have they survived, they have thrived creating a name and reputation synonymous with multiple completions at every endurance ride they attend.

Marriage to Jessica and moving to Australia hasn’t slowed Alam down one bit. In 2010, he became manager and head crew for

India at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky USA. Then in 2011 he achieved his Certificate of Completion to compete in the 2012 World Championships, then in 2013 finished 6th Open 120km FEI 2 Star at Malaka Grand International in Malaysia. This was quickly followed by placing 10th Open in the 85km FEI 1 Star Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore Open Endurance Challenge plus taking the bronze in the team event.

In 2014 he was 1st Open 100km FEI 1 Star Queensland State Championship along with Best Conditioned riding Suncrest Sadaqa’s Pride (Chip Chase Sadaqa x Ghabra), an Australian owned stallion who resides at Al Jeda Arabians. Alam also sits on the selection panel for EA Endurance to assist in the process of selecting the team to fly our flag at both the World Endurance Championships and the World Equestrian Games.

Jessica is a talented find in her own right, holding Certificate II and III in Horse

Born and raised in India, Alam was first lifted onto a horse by his Uncle Mustafa Tehrani when he was just six months of age. It was to be the one moment in time that would determine his future. Alam attended a local equestrian club growing up until he was of age to enter the National Cadets where he competed and won national level show jumping events. In 2003, he completed a commerce/arts degree at Badruka College in India.

The following year, in 2004, Alam was successful in gaining employment in one of Dubai’s leading endurance stables, where he stayed as assistant trainer until 2006 when he became the trainer for the Danish National Endurance Team.

Quickly following was an offer from Sweden in 2007 for a trainer, which he accepted and was later promoted to Chef de Equip for the 2008 World Endurance Championships in Terengganu, Malaysia.

It was there in Malaysia that Alam met Jessica. Jessica was employed at Castlebar Arabians and was crewing for Australia. As Alam tells it, he saw a girl dancing outside in the rain and said to his friends, ‘I’m going to marry that girl.’

Jessica (right) with Verondina Sunspirit, Johan with Dara Park Shakid and Caitlin with Henley Farm Dawama preparing to compete for Al Jeda Arabians

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Al Jeda Group photo on track at the Landsborough ride 2015 PC: E. Holland

Racing and a Diploma in Horse Breeding and Management. Having ridden since the age of eight, Jessica started in Pony Club then moved successfully to endurance on her own horse before moving into the racing industry. Jessica made her return to endurance when she went to work for Castlebar Endurance Arabians in 2005.

In 2006, Jess finished 4th in the Lower Murray Challenge FEI 3 Star, crewed for Australia at the 2008 World Championships, finished 1st heavy weight division in the South Australian Championships and Best Conditioned in 2010, followed by representing Australia in the South African Fauresmith 200km. In 2013, Jess finished 12th Open and 1st International Rider in 80km FEI 1 Star at Malaka Grand International Endurance Ride in Malaysia and then followed it up with 9th Open 85km FEI 1 Star in the Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore Open Endurance Challenge plus Bronze in the team event, competing both against and with her husband.

In 2013, after two years of searching, Alam and Jessica purchased their first

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property. Fifty acres with a cabin style house, two stables and not a lot of fencing, their new home in Gerogery NSW, came complete with its resident stallion, Wynlee Maraki (Prince Benay x Wynlee Karina).

The couple set about designing and building a facility that would see them produce and train horses at both local and international levels. The property now includes individual paddocks, six horse walker, round yards, eight stables and a 50-metre horse swim. During the season it is not uncommon for there to be up to 20 horses in work. The property has easy access to both bitumen and gravel roads, bush laneways, flat and hill country, even a train track. It’s not uncommon at some times of the year to have tractors with various implements attached driving past and giving the horses something new to look at while trotting along the road.

Al Jeda Arabians on occasion can be found in the local show rings exhibiting young horses successfully in hand, proving that well-bred and conformed

horses are versatile, as well as providing a learning opportunity for the horse.

Kangaroos are abundant in Gerogery, making them second nature to the horses. A kangaroo on track at daybreak is nothing new to horses trained on the Al Jeda grounds, giving their horses well rounded exposure before taking them out to endurance rides.

Al Jeda also houses three stallions permanently as well as standing other stallions to stud at different times. The aforementioned Suncrest Sadaqa’s Pride is of course a son of the incomparable Chip Chase Sadaqa. This stallion is successful in his own right, both in endurance racing and as a sire of successful competitive horses around the world.

Shahrak (Sarezin x Shakeelah) is a stunning chestnut who was a very successful show stallion until injury ended his career. His current progeny are starting to gain a reputation for their ability in team penning and cattle work, showing excellent thinking ability and common sense.

Wynlee Maraki (Prince Benay x Wynlee Karina) is the third full time resident and was born and bred on the property. There are currently two lovely yearlings on the ground by this superbly natured fellow. Another stallion who stands with Al Jeda for part of the year is Littlebanks Troubadour, another son of the great Chip Chase Sadaqa. As a 3/4 brother to the 2014 World Endurance Champion Yamamah (Kurrajong Concorde), Al Jeda Arabians consider it both an honour and a pleasure to stand this stunning horse during the breeding season to a limited number of mares on behalf of his owner/breeder.

Al Jeda also owns a few special horses that are based in Malaysia and compete at international endurance events, helping to raise their international profile.

Not only are Alam and Jessica both talented riders and trainers of endurance horses, they are also excited about breeding these horses. It will be another

couple of years before we see home grown horses bearing the Al Jeda prefix out on track, but they are coming. A small select herd of mares are bred each year, handpicked to be joined to select stallions for specific traits. Not only do they wish to breed horses with low heart rates that reach fitness easily, they are working to create animals that are structurally sound with a solid reliable temperament that can cope with the stress of a gruelling endurance event. Bloodlines do play an important role, however they believe that each horse has its own individual merits that need to be considered first.

Alam and Jessica offer services in all aspects of endurance horses. The selection of stallions available at stud allows them to provide a good selection of choice if you are thinking of breeding your own.

Got a horse, never ridden an endurance event? They also provide personalised training programs tailored to you and your horse. Alternatively, need a horse? They have that covered too. Having competed

heavily both locally and internationally has allowed Alam and Jess to build a strong credible network providing them access to reputable breeders and sellers of endurance Arabians and derivatives.

Alam and Jess have never lost touch with how hard it can be to get started in this competitive and demanding sport, and value all of their clients no matter how large or how small, resulting in a professional personalised service.

The lifelong dedication and love this couple have to horses and the sport of endurance shows in every aspect of their lives. Having dinner in a restaurant with this couple is not without the phone ringing to have Alam excuse himself so that he can speak with a client, and Jessica makes no apologies for all things endurance horse related taking precedence. What I notice most about this young couple is the excitement in their voices when speaking about endurance racing and the remarkable animals that participate in the sport with them.

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A magniďŹ cent stallion taken away too soon.

Sadly missed, never forgotten.

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May he live on forever in his amazing progeny.

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Duo Park Stud Scott and Fiona Green

by David Gillett

Justice For All MI Justice For All MI romping home at Morphettville

Fiona Green with daughter Imogen.

PC: Sharon Meyers

Zara Farm Warrior Prince with Scott and Fiona, taken at their first race win back in 2013. PC: Rita Galloway

Duo Park Yo Yo and Scott Green in the mounting yard at Cairns Jockey Club, Cairns Cup day (9 Aug 2014) . PC: Rita Galloway Justice For All MI after winning the HARC Maiden 1150m (L–R) Anthony Mountney, Justice, Scott Green, Fiona Green and Imogen Green

S

Justice For All MI coming in first

cott and Fiona Green’s journey with Arabian horses started as children. Scott’s family were horsemen on both sides of the family.

His father’s side enjoyed trotters in their later years whereas on his mother’s side it was Clydesdales and Thoroughbreds that held their passion.

Scott enjoyed them all. As a young adult, Scott moved to Brisbane for work however in 1992, as a young twenty something, he decided after seven years of working in a high pressure job he would move to the regional city of Cairns. His first goal was to get back into horses and riding. At that time, he was running 70–80km per week and so therefore it was a natural progression to discover the sport of endurance riding…it seemed a perfect match. This is where he met the Arabian horse, and he has admired them ever since.

adventurous trail and beach rides, while growing up in Fairhaven, Victoria. It wasn’t until her twenties that she found herself riding beautiful Arabians again, owned by Scott. Two years later, the pair were married.

For Fiona, riding was sparked as a 12-year-old on an Arabian mare, enjoying

‘We have now lived on our 22 acre property in a beautiful part of the world just 25

‘We started breeding Arabian horses in 2000, and we share the ownership of the prefix Duo Park with a long term friend Gem Butler. Our foundation mares incorporated the proven endurance bloodlines of Abiram, Banderol, Crystal Fire, Hestia, Spindrift and Sala, just to name a few,’ says Fiona.

Scott continues, ‘We retained three of our proven endurance mares and leased another mare from Gem to start our breeding journey. Many of these horses have acquitted themselves well at endurance as well as other disciplines including stock work at a large Western Queensland cattle station.

minutes south of Cairns in Tropical North Queensland, for the past 20+ years.’

Arabian Racing has been the stud’s commitment for the past three years, after making the switch from endurance riding to Arabian racing in June 2013.

‘Although our horses’ pedigrees were not of racing bloodlines we saw this as a starting point and three months after we started training we were quietly surprised to watch the success of Duo Park Yo Yo (Arabesque Majestic x Escort Silver Christal). In his first two races he placed second, being beaten by only a half head, but triumphed to come home for a win on his third outing over a gruelling 2000m. This was exciting to watch, there is nothing better than cheering on your own horse to the finish line. In our first six months we raced two horses, Yo Yo and Zara Farm Warrior Prince, both having success on the track with five race starts each. The following year we trained and raced five horses. Our stable

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was growing and we wanted to improve the quality of horses we campaigned.’

In 2014, the couple purchased a young Mulawa-bred gelding named Justice For All MI (WH Justice x Mulawa Anastazia). He is 15.1hh, and a tall, striking gelding. They also purchased Coolinda Park Winston (Walidayt x Coolinda Park Hello Dolly). ‘Initially we were impressed by Winston’s movement before learning of his pedigree, which is pure Polish with well performed racing lines.

Duo Park Oran (Merton Amadeus x Duo Park Bey Amorette) also started his racing career and won his first race in 2014.’

Due to living so far north, they made a decision in November 2015 to send Justice, Winston and Yo Yo to fellow trainer Anthony Mountney at Kembla Grange near Sydney, to allow these boys the opportunity to compete at the three major southern events across Victoria and South Australia.

Justice For All MI gave an impressive first up race placing of third at the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) at Caulfield, Victoria

THE TRAINING PROCESS The process of turning a horse into a racehorse is an investment of time and patience, but it’s not rocket science and anybody can achieve this goal if they are committed.

To become a NARA registered trainer, you require adequate knowledge of horse management and the Australian Arabian Rules of Racing. As a racehorse trainer you need to assess the fitness of your horse and what it has done in the past.

We found endurance riding provided the horses a sound foundation of fitness, next step was to develop speed in their legs. As trainers we are responsible to have horses fit for race day and educate them to race responsibly and competitively.

Your horse will learn to accept the use of a jockey pad, training exercise pad or a light weight saddle. Scott rides in an old endurance Wintec and Fiona uses a jockey exercise pad. You will need to get your body weight centred and over the horses’ neck,

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on Australia Day and then went on to win his following two starts, the Heritage Arabian Racehorse Club (HARC) Maiden 1150m at Merton, Victoria and a gallant win at the Shadwell UAE Plate 1150m, Morphettville, South Australia in March. It is believed that Justice is the only progeny of WH Justice to have raced or won a race in the world.

In this game, our

the Heritage Arabian Racehorse Club (HARC) Mile in February. This gelding never gives in and placed third, beaten by just a half head at the Shadwell Arabian Stallions Plate 1400m at Morphettville.

Justice For All MI and Coolinda Park Winston both stand over a lot of ground, have a lovely long length of rein, but more importantly are free flowing in their action and have a competitive heart with that all important desire to win.

Coolinda Park Winston has a race career record of seven starts for 2:1:2. He ran a gutsy race on Australia Day in the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship (IFAHR) leading the field the entire 1600m until the last metre to be pipped at the post into second place by a nose. Winston went on to win

‘Over the past three years our training is constantly being fine tuned. We will never forget the long hours in the saddle while endurance training that established a great foundation of knowledge of the Arabian horse and their capabilities. We share over 10,000km of competitive endurance rides between us and understand what it means to prepare a horse for a demanding long distance endurance ride, and although our training program has changed significantly with racing, we both agree the Arabian horse still needs a mixture of track work and trail riding each week to break up the monotony.’

naturally this position will see you shortening your stirrups to a comfortable length.

training and ideally would like to build a horse swimming pool to assist in their fitness.

We are fortunate to live on acreage and have converted some of our paddocks into an 800m grass training track with gentle sweeping turns. We commence training with a warm up lap of walking and trotting and then three canter laps, concentrating on the horse’s head position, balance and breathing. We maintain their canter speed somewhere between 19 to 24km per hour for 1600m then a little faster over the final 800m.

We are both very passionate about Arabian Racing and enjoy the training, racing and development of our stable. We are learning all the time. So far, we have had some great results, but we are constantly reminded that racing is definitely a sport where you cannot take anything for granted or cut corners, those little one percenters add up and can make a huge difference on race day.

experience has been that the Arabian is able to shine.

For the first 4–6 weeks we mainly work from home building a solid base, thereafter we head onto the racecourse with jockeys organised, to increase the horse’s workload.

We have found it beneficial working two horses together to encourage their competitive nature, however this is not essential. After 6–8 weeks our horses are usually at a point where they are galloping the final 400–600m in their work. Although one would think galloping is a natural gait, inexperienced horses will improve over the course of their preparation. We also have a horse walker that is an invaluable tool in

During the 2014/15 season we raced six horses for 12 starts for two wins, three seconds, three thirds and four fourths and were honoured to receive the Award for best Australian Arabian Racehorse Trainers, Owners and Breeders.

The 2015/16 season so far, we have raced four horses for 10 starts for four wins, two seconds and three thirds and one fourth.

We see our Arabians as beautiful, smart, athletic, tough and versatile horses.

They have an abundance of personality and are always willing to please.

‘We are always learning. When we made that decision to race Yo Yo, we thought he would stumble and trip over his own nose but as it turned out Duo Park Yo Yo demonstrated all the desirable attributes of a race horse, with a strong athletic body and great temperament to work with.’

For the 2016/17 season, in addition to Justice, Winston and Yo Yo, the stud will have Duo Park Oran (Merton Amadeus x Duo Park Bey Amorette), Zara Farm Warrior Prince (Bremervale Bey Warrior x Zara Farm Dasjel) and new acquisition Coolinda Park Words of Wisdom (Chronicle DV (US) x Coolinda Park Errika) all in training.

Besides this busy program, it is still Scott and Fiona’s desire to breed a good Australian Arabian racehorse. It was a discussion Scott and Greg Farrell were having one day that set them on yet another path which was the purchase of one of Australia’s best performed mares and to put her into foal to one of the world’s best performed stallions. ‘We purchased Magelica (Magnum Forty Four x Mulawa Angelica) and have bred her to a Group

1 winning French-bred Arabian, No Risk Al Maury, owned by Shadwell Arabians in the UK.’ At the time of writing they had just received news of an early pregnancy.

‘In this game, our experience has been that the Arabian is able to shine.

They seem to learn everything about racing so quickly, whether it be new gear and equipment, or the starting barriers or even learning how to gallop (we compared this with our many years of experience with the Thoroughbreds who take much longer to learn and can be a handful to handle in training and racing). It just goes to show the diversity and how versatile Arabian horses are. And yet we struggled at the beginning when we first presented our Arabians at a race track – the feedback from people (Thoroughbred owners/trainers) that Arabians are scatty, and uncontrollable. We have proven all of them wrong and earned a great deal of respect from many of these people.

Amazing what people don’t know until they experience it first-hand, they have all been impressed with our horses on race day.‘

Extremely talented Stallion – This multi supreme champion halter and saddle stallion is a true gentleman. He has a superb temperament and is clever with stunning colour and extravagant movement.

Spirit has the looks, movement, conformation and breeding that is producing some of Australia’s ultimate clever coloured performance horses.

Running to the finish line

Another win for Justice For All MI PC: Sharon Meyers

Belvedere Watch The Paint (Spirit)

Definitely “A Proven Sire” Spirit’s progeny are proven supreme champions in all disciplines.

Spirit has sired some of Australia’s top award winning coloured performance horses e.g. WP Kiss who qualified and represented QLD at the 2011 Show Horse Council Grand Nationals – where he achieved Runner-up Small Show Hunter Hack of the Year – first ever coloured horse to qualify and win at the S.H.C. Grand Nationals.

Vanquish WP – Australian Quarab Champion yearling colt and two year old.

Vanquish WP also won the 2016 Champion of Champion Quarab Colt/Stallion at the prestigious East Coast Arabian Championships.

Bookings now being taken for the 2016/17 breeding season.

Contact: Dariel and Frank Kolarik | Wisteria Park Stud T: 0432 022 380 | F: Wisteria Park or Dariel Kolarik www.wisteriaparkstud.com.au | E: info@wisteriaparkstud.com.au Illuminate WP

WP Kiss

Nothing Too Serious

WisteriaParkByDesign

Vanquish WP

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Cast a Spell and CHARMED

we are

by Doyle Dertell

O

n a late February day in 2012 a young dark colt was born to a most cherished Arabian mare. This mare was the queen mother of Future Farms, already the progenitor of a legacy with her sons Crave FF, Prince Charming FF and Cava FF. The excitement was very high for this newest edition to a regal family. Sired by the USA import SF Sir Real this young colt charmed us all from birth, and thus he was named Sir Charmed FF. Sir Charmed FF was allowed to grow and mature during his yearling year, as by show standards he was such a late baby in Australia. As a two-yearold, he made his show ring debut at the National Stud Show where he was crowned Junior Champion Colt and also won the Presidents Trophy for the show’s most popular horse. He then went on to win Gold Champion Junior Colt and won the trophy for Highest Scored Horse at the

Australasian Breeders Cup. The accolades continued, and after Sir Charmed FF won East Coast Champion Junior Colt, the decision was made to export him to the USA to compete on the world stage.

The plan was to send him over in January 2016, allowing him several months to cover mares in Australia prior to his export.

During 2015 our good friends, Helen and Andy Hardwick of Al Sahrae Arabians continued to ask about our plans and wanted to know if they could share in the journey, and so in late 2015 a partnership was formed and all plans were finalised for a two year show program in America.

Sir Charmed FF made his American debut at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show in Arizona in February 2016, after having arrived in the USA only one week before.

A true testament to his laid back nature, Sir Charmed FF travelled for over 50 hours (Melbourne, Singapore, Hong Kong, Anchorage, New York, Los Angeles), was in

quarantine in LA for 48 hours, then drove across to Scottsdale, Arizona. After all this, he still looked good enough to hit the show ring – which he did with no problem at all, winning Reserve Champion Three Year Old Stallion with Doyle on the lead!

The next stage to be set for this charming Arabian prince was the Arabian Breeders World Cup in April in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sir Charmed FF once again was awarded Reserve Champion Three Year Old Stallion against many of the best horses in the world in his age. Most recently, Sir Charmed FF competed at Region 15 in Junior Stallions where he was named Champion Three Year Old Stallion.

One of the most gratifying outcomes of the whole journey so far has been the response of the Australian Arabian horse community. The support we receive for Sir Charmed FF and all we are doing continues to amaze me. It started here in Australia with many breeders jumping on board to try this young colt over their mares before he left for America. It has continued to be somewhat overwhelming in the USA, where the Australian public show their support at the shows, via social media and through private messages. We are humbled by the emotional connection the Australian public have for Sir Charmed FF and we are happy to share his experience with the wider community to help enhance the Australian Arabians on the world stage.

Future plans for Sir Charmed FF include the opportunity to compete at the US Nationals in October, and then have some well earned R&R before ramping up for the 2017 season with a turn at the Scottsdale Arabian Show, this time as a mature four-year-old stallion.

Where to from there – we will wait and see!

Sir Charmed FF with Doyle at Scottsdale 2016

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We are eagerly awaiting the first foals by Sir Charmed FF, which start arriving late August here in Australia, and from March in the USA.

Sir Charmed FF (SF Sir Real (USA) x Bremervale Charmed)

A roughage-only diet: decision or a recipe for

Smart

disaster?

Brian D. Nielsen, Ph.D., PAS, Dpl. ACAN | Professor, Department of Animal Science Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI 48824-1225 Images courtesy of Simeon Stud

Broodmares at pasture at Simeon Stud

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he question often comes up. Can a horse get by on just roughage – either through pasture or hay – or does it need supplementary feed (i.e. grain)? While seemingly the answer could be either a quick yes or no, the real answer is a bit more complicated.

The first thing that needs to be addressed is whether one is providing good quality roughage (as either pasture or hay).

Traditionally, if one’s hay is immature, green and leafy, it would likely be higher in energy and many other nutrients and thus would be viewed as ‘good’ hay. If the hay was mature, yellow and contained a much greater percentage of stems compared to leaves, then it would likely contain lower energy and other nutrients, and thus would be considered ‘poor’ hay. Though it is impossible to determine the true nutrient content of a roughage by just looking at it, one can determine if the amount of energy being fed is adequate and appropriate simply by examining the animal to determine its body condition score (BCS). The system, used by many to determine BCS, is on a

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nine-point scale with a ‘1’ being an extremely emaciated animal and with a ‘9’ being an extremely obese animal. A ‘5’ is considered to be a moderate animal. In order to properly body condition score an animal, one should put their hands on the animal and feel for fat deposits over various parts of the body.

A quick estimate of body condition score is to examine the fat cover over the ribs.

Typically you will be able to see the ribs on a horse that is below a body condition score of 5. At a score of 5, usually you cannot see the ribs but you can easily feel them.

The higher the body condition score, the harder it is to feel the ribs. Again, while not exact, this quick method will allow most individuals to determine if their animal would fall into a thin, moderate or fat category.

If the body condition score of the animal, representing the fat stored within the body, is going up, then it signifies the animal is consuming more energy than it is using.

If the body condition score is going down, then the animal is consuming less energy than it is using. Once you have the animal at the desired body condition score (i.e. not

too fat and not too thin), any changes from that may indicate the horse is taking in too much or too little energy. If a diet containing only roughage is causing your horse to get too thin, then it may be necessary to supplement with grain. This often can be the case with performance horses or lactating broodmares. That being said, I have been training racing Quarter Horses for years and my horses spend all of their time out on pasture. Only rarely do I ever have to supplement grain to them and a bigger issue is that they often get a little too fat by consuming too much forage during the summer months and they take in too many calories compared to what they need. So even though they are athletic horses, they often consume more calories than needed on a strictly-roughage diet. Obviously, in such a situation, supplementing grain in order to provide even more energy would be foolish. While typically not provided to performance horses, a ‘poor’ hay may actually be a very useful portion of a horse’s diet if that horse is an easy keeper and has very low nutritional requirements such as a mature horse at maintenance.

The ‘good’ hay might be less favourable as one could only feed a small amount, thus leaving the horse for long periods without anything to eat and therefore more prone to behavioural problems.

But when discussing ‘good’ versus ‘poor’ hay, one must be reminded that appearance alone cannot tell you everything you need to know about the nutrients contained within the hay. Professor Manfred Coenen of the University of Leipzig once said, ‘The only good hay… is hay that has been analysed.’

Truthfully, it is not until the roughage has been analysed can you determine whether it would meet the nutritional requirements of your animal. The one advantage to feeding hay (as opposed to pasture) to horses is that the nutrition they are provided can be fairly constant. If receiving a large batch of hay, by testing it, you can be pretty well assured as to its nutritional composition.

By knowing that, it is relatively easy to determine if a concentrate or other supplemental minerals (and potentially vitamins) need to be provided. While this can be practical for hay when purchased in large quantities, it may not be so practical when buying hay in small quantities that will be used up within just a few weeks.

Additionally, roughage analysis becomes challenging and somewhat impractical when the horse’s diet is all fresh pasture.

Seasonal changes in pasture can greatly influence what a horse consumes considering different forages change throughout the season, thus altering the nutritional composition of the forage. The amount of soluble carbohydrates, fibre,

Lush pasture can contain high water content

protein, minerals and vitamins can all vary substantially throughout the growing season. In many cases, as pastures begin to grow, these changes are seen as favourable to the horse but, as will be explored later, there are some situations where the increase in these nutrients can cause concerns and potential harm.

Additionally, it is very difficult to determine exactly how much they are consuming so it is challenging to determine if they are meeting all of their nutritional requirements except for energy (again, this can be determined by body condition scoring the horse). Furthermore, the composition oftentimes changes dramatically from month to month meaning that even if one were to nutritionally analyse the forage in their pasture, the nutrient composition will likely be different the next time it is analysed.

An example of seasonal changes in nutritional composition of pasture was pointed out in research performed by individuals at Virginia Tech University in the United States. The research revealed substantial differences in the amount of non-structural carbohydrates (for example, sugars and starches) between pasture sampled in April compared to the samples taken a month later in May. Sampling done around the clock revealed that there was a dramatic diurnal variation occurring in April with the amount of non-structural carbohydrates increasing twice a day.

These peaks were reduced in May and were almost non-existent in the months of August and October. There are many people who are concerned about having

too many non-structural carbohydrates, particularly simple sugars and fructans, when grazing lush pasture and the resultant potential for the development of laminitis.

For horses susceptible to the development of laminitis (for example, ones that have previously developed the problem), it would be advisable to limit the grazing during the periods of lush growth.

Obviously, peak periods for high concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates can vary greatly depending upon where one lives. The peak months should not be expected to be the same in Northern locations as they would be in Southern locations. Typically, one can expect lower concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates when photosynthetic activity is lower (such as when there is cloud cover and the plants have limited ability to synthesise these products) and plant growth is enhanced (such as when there are warm, moist, fertile soils that encourage the plant to use these products for their own growth).

By comparison, when photosynthetic activity is enhanced (sunny days when the plant is producing a lot of these products) and plant growth is limited (such as when the temperature is somewhat cooler), higher concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates (particularly fructans) can be expected. Again, it is the suggested link to laminitis that raises concerns with some horse owners during these times of year.

Another potential problem with lush pastures is there are times when it is difficult for some horses to meet their requirements because of the high moisture

Fresh pasture is beneficial in providing vitamins

content of such pastures. One study, in particular, reported that a lush pasture was unable to sustain lactating Thoroughbred mares though it could sustain ones that were not lactating. Given that estimates of water intake from pasture alone range from 31 to 60 kg (roughly 31 to 60 litres or 8 ½ to 16 ½ gallons) of water per day, it is easy to understand how difficult it might be for a horse that has a high nutritional requirement to consume enough dry matter (feed with all the water removed) if the water content is too great in the forage.

This usually will not be a problem but is something of which one needs to be aware.

Despite these limitations to grazing horses on pasture, most individuals appreciate the opportunity to graze their animals and utilise the quality of nutrients that often accompany this forage during periods when there is lush growth. There is an adage that ‘grass is green, hay is dead.’ It is often easy to see a change in appearance in horses as they begin to graze pasture in the spring.

Granted, part of this change is confounded with the increasing amounts of daylight and the shedding of their winter coat. However, horses often relish grazing new vegetation and even will forgo hay consumption to consume new pasture growth – even when it is minimal. Additionally, for those horses not prone to laminitis, that lush new pasture provides a great source of nutrients and can certainly help promote growth and weight gain for horses that lost weight during the winter months.

Another study also revealed how beneficial fresh pasture can be in terms of providing vitamins. In work conducted at Rutgers University, horses removed from pasture had declining concentrations of vitamin A in their blood despite receiving supplemental beta-carotene (a pre-cursor to vitamin A).

This demonstrates the substantial amount of vitamins that can be obtained from pasture that may not be available in preserved forages (hays) or even available through supplements. Such large quantities are not needed in the diet but can serve a purpose in replenishing liver concentrations of the fat soluble vitamins that can get depleted over the winter months or during periods when hay is being fed as the sole source of forage. The carotene found in green forage begins to degrade after the forage has been cut for hay, cured and stored. Some estimate that over 50% of the carotene is degraded in hay that has been stored for

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one year. Under the typical scenario where horses are fed hay over the winter, this is not a major issue as carotene is stored in the liver and can be used by the animal in periods when it is not being provided in adequate amounts in the diet. However, after eating hay for six months, there are definite advantages to allowing the horse to consume green pasture to replenish the carotene reserves. This is just an example of how the horse has evolved to handle the seasonal variations in feedstuffs that occur.

Horses often relish grazing new vegetation and even will forgo hay consumption to consume new pasture growth.

Regardless, in most locations, it is difficult to support a horse on strictly a pasture diet year round. In areas where there are cold winters and deep snowfall, grazing obviously can be difficult or impossible. In areas where hot summers with little rain can dry up pastures, supplemental feeding of hay may also be necessary. Even if it appears that there is plenty of forage available, once the plant matures, the fibre concentration increases and the amount of energy, protein, and vitamins typically decrease substantially necessitating the supplementation of hay.

Additionally, in periods of drought, limited access to quality forages can encourage horses to consume weeds and plant species that may have a potential toxic effect. While normally these plants would not be consumed, horses will eat them during periods of drought when there is a lack of other available forages to eat. This is just another example of the importance of providing horses with adequate amounts of quality forage at all times – whether it is from pasture or hay. Failure to provide it may force one’s horse to consume items you would rather not have them eat.

Beyond the health concerns addressed above, one of the most important considerations regarding an all-roughage diet is simply whether the nutrient requirements are being met. Protein concentrations can vary greatly as hay

matures and between different varieties of hay, as does the mineral concentrations.

Likewise, certain locations have deficiencies or excesses of minerals in the soil and these can play a role in the concentrations of those minerals in the roughage. Truthfully, it is impossible to determine whether the amount the horse consumes is adequate, without being excessive, without the roughage being analysed. Only at that point can one truly know whether a roughage-only diet will accomplish one’s goal for their horse.

So going back to the question of whether a horse can get by on a diet consisting solely of roughage, the answer is… it depends.

There are many horses that thrive on an allroughage diet and probably are happier and healthier as a result of that. However, in other situations, an all-roughage diet may not meet the nutritional requirements of the animal and supplementary feed – either as grain or some type of balancer – may need to be provided. As many have begun to realise over the years, when it comes to equine nutrition, we should emphasise ‘forage first’. If all of the requirements are met, then there is no need to supplement. If there are some requirements that are not met, then supplementing is important. But the only way to know for certain is to make sure you feed ‘good hay’ – and that is ‘hay that has been analysed!’ (Or provide access to ‘good’ pasture – even though a proper analysis of pasture is much more challenging!)

Horses relish grazing new growth

A

loha

ARABIANS

Aloha Dakota

(Arabian Park Desert Dashar x Aloha Jedda [ASHS])

Aloha Lord of the Rings (Arabian Park Desert Dashar x Kaoru Echo [ASB])

16.2 1/2hh anglo 12yrs Australian National Champion 2012 & 2010

Champion Ridden Open Hack Magnificent Bay Anglo Stallion with a fabulous, quiet temperament which he is putting into his progeny, yearlings with outstanding quality.

Service Fee $1200 LFG

Aloha Telesmon 16hh arabian/stockhorse 13yrs Australian National Champion 2012 & 2006

(Talquah Talik x Ramaka)

Triple Crown Champion Magnificent Jet Black Arabian/Stockhorse Stallion with a lovely, quiet temperament, which he is putting into his progeny.

Already has Multi Champions.

Service Fee $1000

Aloha Valour (Vivaldi x Aloha Embrace)

15.3hh Chestnut Pure Arabian Sire of Multi Champions - Endurance - with progeny exported to UAE.

Aloha Kaaba

Aloha Power of One (Stormarn Contender x Aloha Kimil)

(Aloha Zar x Aloha Kwaiyis)

Double reg. AWHA 16.3hh Arabian/Warmblood 18yrs Australian National Champion – 4 Times Multi Champion Led and Ridden Sire of Multi Champions Led and Ridden, including Australian Champions.

Service Fee $1200

Aloha Nagano (Aloha Telesmon X Aloha Zetra)

15.3hh Chestnut Purebred Arabian Standing to Open Stud this season.

Second foals are due for Aloha Stud this coming season – these are bred for Endurance.

Service Fee $1000 LFG

15.1hh Chestnut Purebred Arabian 16yrs Double Registered AHSA & ASHS Top Young Sire of Show Champions, including Aloha Flamboyant.

Has Top Bloodlines for Endurance.

Aloha Majestic King (Aloha Desert Kingdom x Noran Amazing Grace)

17hh Jet Black Arabian/ Warmblood 7yrs Unshown owing to injury.

First foal shown for Champion at East Coast. Has outstanding yearlings & weanlings, with lovely temperaments.

Service Fee $1000

16hh Arabian/Warmblood also reg.

ANSA and Holstein Warmblood.

Australian National Champion – 4 Times Sire of Multi Champions, Led, Hacking, Dressage, Eventing Service Fee $1100 LFG

Aloha

ARABIANS

Mary Triggs

ph: 02 6928 5885 M: 0427 212 009 ALOHA STUD, 1164 Burrandana Rd, Mangoplah, NSW 2652 (via Wagga Wagga) alohastud1@bigpond.com

Sheridan Park

and Arabian Ponies

by Karen Sheridan

Marconi Dreamtime and Simeon Sie

I

LOVE Welsh ponies! What’s not to love? They are to me, so similar to Arabians, their personalities are similar, they are so beautiful to look at, and of course known for their big movement, big eyes with sweet but cheeky temperaments!! Breeding Arabian Ponies isn’t new to me, I’ve dabbled in it from the start but I was crossing Welsh mares with Arabian stallions. Recently I’ve done the opposite and am so much happier with the result!

I was given a delightful little Arabian Pony called Palm Park Storm (Weston Park

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Vincent x Lenson Park Moonbeam). The search was on for a suitable sire for her and that led me to a gorgeous palomino stallion, Rivington Bubbling Over. He came to stay with me while serving and I just thought, wow, this size is just so easy, even though he was a roaring hormone machine!

I decided due to their larger height that I would start with section B’s as they are big enough to cover my Arabian mares.

I was so in love with the beautiful buckskin, Weston Park Mercury, senior stud sire for the successful stud Marconi and now Calca, so I couldn’t believe when the horsey grapevine found me a palomino son, Marconi

Dreamtime, from Imperial Manika, virtually around the corner. The poor love was five years old and had already had five homes.

I brought him home in January 2012 and promptly started paddock serving my pony and Arabian mares.

Dreamy totally blew me away with his sweet, quiet personality, but his real talent is in training difficult mares. He is the king of this art and I’ve not seen any other stallion be so incredible around mares. My Arabian mare SP Viktoria (TR Viktor x Sabtah A Serenade) didn’t like being mounted and would shoot off at that point unless restrained by a human. We served at the gate and released

Marconi Dreamtime – Palomino Welsh B, APSB and RP approved 12.3hh stallion | Weston Park Mercury x Imperial Manika | Progeny Multi Supreme, beautiful temperaments and incredible movers!

Photo: K. Sheridan

breeding for 27 years

all pony 2016 foal crop sold, please contact for information on 2017 foals and sales list.* *2 Pony foals and 2 SE Arabian foals expected.

Sheridan Park advert Arctic Gold – Perlino Grey, Welsh B, APSB | Marconi Dreamtime x Ballynamona Pearl | Champion Welsh B Foal, SA RPG Foal Show 2016 | Reserve Ch Welsh B Foal, APSB Foal Show 2016.

SP Gold N Lyric – Buckskin Welsh B Filly | Grand Champion Foal SA Arabs Foal Show 2016 | Champion Dilute, Champion APSB SA RPG Welsh Foal Show.

Photo: (Left) Kerri Afford Photography; (Right) K. Sheridan

SP Gold N Belle – Burnt Buckskin Filly, Sec A RP, APSB RP | Destined for Dressage with the Stars | Marconi Gold Maker x Sanlirra Snugglepot.

Photo: Ingrid Matschke Photography

Photo: Ingrid Matschke Photography

Marconi Gold Maker – Welsh B, APSB | Perlino 12.1hh | Weston Park Mercury x Bungalally Cappucinno | Grand Champion and Supreme Progeny in most states of Australia Photo: K. Sheridan

SP Dream Dancer – Palomino Arabian Pony Filly, part APSB | Marconi Dreamtime x Kuhaylan Nakala (SE Purebred).

SP Gold Star – Buckskin Colt, Welsh B, APSB | Also destined for Dressage with the Stars | Marconi Gold Maker x Garraboo Rowena.

Photo: Ingrid Matschke Photography

Photo: K. Sheridan

Sheridan Park Arabians and Ponies Birdwood SA | sheridanpa@bigpond.com | 0400 064 878 – SMS preferred. www.sheridanpa.com.au

Sheridan Park Cuddlepot – 2013 filly (Marconi Dreamtime x Sanlirra Snugglepot)

Marconi Dreamtime – Welsh B Stallion (Weston Park Mercury x Imperial Manika)

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them together. Then, he totally ignored her… and she was so puzzled. Every now and then he would rush up to her, all vocal and tease for about a minute then just walk away. The next morning, I saw him serve her and she didn’t move a foot. If they are runners, he just runs about five metres away from them and keeps up, not once putting pressure on, until once again she says it’s okay. He does like to control his mares though, he does drive them to where he wants them to be and they stay there until he says they can move away, usually that’s when another stallion and his mares are close by! One mare had to learn to be in a herd, she kept having to be driven back to the other mares, but he was always the gentleman. Now, all the mares absolutely adore him and want to be with him well and truly over any other stallion. And SP Viktoria?

She was tested not in foal but in February 2014 she presented an incredible chestnut filly, so unbelievably beautiful! SP Tiara hopefully will be shown this season.

Dreamy’s first foal crop was incredible.

So many Champions and Supremes from foal shows and as yearlings. The star of the first crop was SP Cuddlepot from Sanlirra Snugglepot (Vale Park Spotlight x Malibu Park Ramblin Rose), a registered Arabian Riding Pony. Most of all they won hearts from the crowds as they were just so adorable looking!

The beautiful Straight Egyptian purebred mare, Kuhaylan Nakala (Simeon Samal x Kuhaylan Egyptian Nakeeda) chose Dreamy over the young toy boy SP Ibn Sataara (Abraxas Amir x Sataara) so who was I to say no? This past season the most extraordinary palomino filly was born, and sold, in two days! She promises to be quite tall, possibly her dam’s height at 14.3hh.

I love buckskins, and when I saw Marconi Gold Maker for sale I just had to enquire.

He is by the same sire as Dreamy but out of totally different lines on the dam side.

His dam is Bungalally Cappuccino, a perlino broodmare that was very well thought of in the pony fraternity. So of course I bought him.

Buzz as he was known, who had already a few seasons under his belt, had incredible progeny already. When I announced I had purchased him, and people started tagging me in his successful show progeny, I was blown away! I don’t think he’s had one ordinary foal! Both of my boys have produced pinto marked foals too. I tested Buzz to see

Sheridan Park Tiara – Arabian Pony filly (Marconi Dreamtime x Sheridan Park Viktoria)

if he could produce palomino and he can’t, but he has produced every shade of buckskin

Most of all they won hearts from the crowds as they were just so adorable looking! there is! His most challenging mare was a 15.2hh Anglo mare, so he had to learn to be collected. She had a stunning golden buckskin colt this season, and I think will also be the size of his dam. Both my stallions’ foals have incredible temperaments, and that is passed onto all their foals. Marconi Gold Maker has yet to cover a purebred mare but next season I plan to use a few Straight Egyptian females with him. He’s not confident serving the bigger mares though so I end up hand serving.

Dreamy’s funny though, if there’s a couple of mares to serve and one’s bigger, he won’t serve her unless there’s no other option (lol).

Dreamy has served the stunning Straight Egyptian Asfour daughter, Simeon Sie, from Rafaalaa imp USA this season. This foal I am expecting to be pretty incredible.

This was her first time being paddock served and I don’t think she’s convinced about being bossed around yet! I intend using my best Straight Egyptian mares with my pony boys.

Dreamy has a few progeny that are destined for the Pony section of dressage with the stars so that is very exciting! His colt foal out of the multi Australian champion Arabian Pony mare Chelleason Kisses of Gold recently was awarded 2016 Main Event Supreme Junior Derivative at four months old!

So the future is looking really colourful for Sheridan Park!

Sheridan Park Dream Dancer (Marconi Dreamtime x Kuhaylan Nakala) PC: Karen Sheridan

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Khalid Arabians

by David Gillett

Kharinyah’s Glimma N Gold (Animation KEI x Leechdale Golden Fantasy) PC: Framed by Frame

I

n 2011, after more than a 20 year hiatus of not owning horses, and wanting to surprise her husband Gary with the ultimate birthday gift, Catherine Cunningham decided it was finally time to get back in the game.

After viewing only a few photos on email, she decided to purchase the palomino Half Arabian filly Kharinyah’s Glimma N Gold (Animation KEI x Leechdale Golden Fantasy) from Robert Hayward in NSW, and so began the journey for Khalid Arabians.

‘At the time, her breed wasn’t the priority… it was the colour that was appealing to me. We actually set out to purchase the colt Robert had advertised but he had sold him when I enquired, so we were offered Angel. How lucky we were.’

After purchasing this filly, the couple bought 37 acres on the outskirts of Brisbane and set about showing their dream girl.

‘My background with horses was as a youngster living in Scotland with a half

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Arabian mare who used to show jump and compete in cross country and Gary with limited horse contact has taken to the Arabian like a duck to water. Trading his pilot wings for the show ring has fostered a very special relationship with these very special horses.’

That said, the beginning of the trio’s combined show career was not all smooth sailing. Taking their filly to the Colourama Show, it became apparent that although they had horse handling skills, the right equipment and looked the part, showing Arabian horses was in stark contrast to taking horses to the local agricultural show back in Scotland. ‘We took Angel to the Colourama and a few agricultural shows and it was very clear we had no idea about halter showing. Their conditioning was unique to us. We thought she looked perfect, after having had standardbred trotters on the property she looked overweight to us. We can only laugh now…she was underweight for a show horse.’

Amir Sir Real Khalid (SF Sir Real x Mystique Fareedah) with Michelle Thomas

Not one to be backwards, Catherine asked the judge for any feedback… and still does when appropriate, and she believes this is one of the many ways to learn more. Sound advice.

‘She said we had a beautiful filly but her conditioning was way out of whack. If she was conditioned appropriately she would be unstoppable and by God she was right.

It was that light bulb moment to give up or get help. Well we don’t give up!’

The couple sought advice from Michelle Thomas at Chelleason Training Centre.

‘We were asked what we wanted and said we wanted our horse to be trained so that we could go to shows, and maybe win a ribbon…and that was the beginning of the addiction to Arabian horses.’

Soon after, a 15.3hh purebred gelding Amir Sir Real Khalid (SF Sir Real x Mystique Fareedah) joined the team, and within 12 months the stud was competing at the East Coast and Australian Championships, winning Championships

Chelleason Al Sultan (Saudi El Perseus x Chelleason Sophia Loren)

at both with their palomino filly as well as a Top Five with the gelding.

From there, Khalid Arabians have gone from strength to strength, increasing their show team and commencing a breeding program with three purebred broodmares.

‘Two are full sisters Gees Serenity and Shannonbrook Sheena Gold, rare daughters of Psyches Turbo out of Abha Jalyma.

Before we bought them, we had loved their progeny by Heir of Marwan and decided we would try the same cross. We have not been disappointed with the two amazing foals born, who will hit the show ground next season. We are really excited to show our first two homebred foals.’

The third broodmare is Chelleason Crown Empressa, sired by Chelleason Crown Jewel out of Europa SPA, who is by Psytadel.

‘Despite being beautiful, the showring at this stage just isn’t for her, so rather than put her through it we decided to breed with her. She foaled an amazing colt

by Ghianni WPI but sadly this stunning boy died at three months of age. This was absolutely heartbreaking for us.’

Empressa has since been bred to East Coast Reserve Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Chelleason Al Sultan (Saudi El Perseus x Chelleason Sophia Loren), whom the couple have also since purchased. Bred by Michelle Thomas, he is a very tall and stretchy colt whom Gary and Catherine believe will cross very nicely with their mares.

Recently Khalid Arabians acquired another purebred gelding Sharjah WPI (Jadaan Al Shaqab x Sophia WV), who has been awarded Champion or Supreme many times as well as a second palomino Half Arabian filly, Gold Dust of Allyndah (The Pantom of Sierra x Allyndah Sophia).

It is hoped that this filly will have the same kind of success as the original purchase Kharinyah’s Glimma N Gold.

At the 2016 East Coast Arabian Championships, the favourite horse of

many in the crowd was the new superstar for Khalid Arabians, the palomino colt Roseglen Crown Royale (Chelleason Crown Jewel x Roseglen Shaakira). With his glorious, golden coat and gleaming white mane and tail cascading around his body, the colt swept in to win Champion Junior Colt and Champion of Champions.

‘Can you believe when we originally saw him for sale we passed over the opportunity?

Anyway, East Coast this year was amazing for us. We knew he was nice...we had taken him to Top of the Range the previous year where he went Supreme Junior Part Arabian and then to last year’s East Coast where he was Champion Yearling Colt.

From that time he has just continued to bloom… so we entered him for East Coast. He travelled well from Queensland and was quiet in the stables, but when it was show time somehow he knew, and he fired up and was out to have some fun... With Michelle Thomas on the lead he entered the arena like he was a superstar… I will never forget it. He was majestic, and he loved it out there, which for us is the most important aspect.’

This success was mirrored at the 2016 Australian Championships where Roseglen Crown Royale was Champion Junior Colt and the highest scored derivative of the show. Not to be outdone, Kharinyah’s Glimma N Gold was Champion Half Arabian Mare Under Saddle.

To say Gary and Catherine are passionate about the Arabian is an underestimation.

This is a couple who are loving their new life and have met some very special people along the way. ‘We have learned so much and do much of the conditioning at home ourselves with the help of professionals to showcase the wonderful Arabians in our care. Living the dream has brought smiles, tears and everything in between… and we wouldn’t have it any other way.’

Roseglen Crown Royale (Chelleason Crown Jewel x Roseglen Shaakira) with Michelle Thomas

The Legacy of

Nazeer Daughters in Australia and New Zealand

W

e so often hear the name Nazeer in association with his most famous sons such as the four leading sire line branches: Aswan, Morafic, Ansata Ibn Halima and Hadban Enzahi, but what about the Nazeer daughters? Don’t they also play a role in today’s champions and celebrated breed heros? The answer is yes, of course.

Samia (Nazeer x Malaka) PC: Judith Forbis

Because a stallion can sire many progeny in his lifetime and a mare can only give us about 10–15 foals in their lifetime, in the modern world we don’t think as much about their pervasiveness in the breed. But a number of Nazeer daughters emerge as having a profound influence in the breed both in Straight Egyptian and in the greater panorama of bloodlines.

Nazeer’s reputation as a superior sire was blossoming in the late 1960s into the 1970s, hence his daughters were hard to come by.

Understandably Egypt kept a number of them as valuable broodmares. The Kuhaylan Rodan families established some high quality results coveted by nations wanting to purchase stock from Egypt. By example the Nazeer daughter Samia (x Malaka) produced Hekmat (x Anter), imported to the US by Gleannloch Farms who is the granddam of the heavily used and popular stallion Hansan (who also has two other admired Nazeer daughters in his pedigree, Bint Nefisaa and Bint Mona). Samia’s sister Nazeera (Nazeer x Malaka) produced the fine Sameh daughter Omayma, one of the first Straight Egyptians imported to Australia whose progeny were exported back to the US and whose son Hanzeer (x Hansan) was a popular sire in Australia. Hanzeer’s 3/4 sisters Wanisa and The Essens Ladywhite became popular dam lines in the US. The Nazeer daughter Bint Om El Saad (a 3/4 sister to Richard Pritzlaff’s

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Hansan (El Hilal x Hamamaa)

by Joe Ferriss

stallion Rashad Ibn Nazeer) became the dam of US National Champion Serenity Sonbolah (x Sameh), a truly magnificent mare who was admired by so many in the US. Later her influence would be felt internationally.

She is the granddam of popular Australian sire PVA Sonbali (Ruminaja Ali x Imperial Sonboleen) among others.

Another Nazeer daughter who remained in Egypt was the lovely Nagdia (x Zahia).

She was a foundation mare for famed Albadeia Stud. This female line gives us the incredible sire and World Champion Al Adeed Al Shaqab. This is also the dam line of the beautiful Simeon import, Ibtehag Albadeia who has two crosses to Nagdia.

Even if only for sentimental reasons, the EAO would never part with Nazeer’s very first daughter, Dahma II (x Futna). She had seven foals at the EAO and four of her daughters would carry her legacy forward.

The first being Richard Pritzlaff’s mare Bint Dahma (x El Sareei) who has significant impact in the US, though rarer in Australia and New Zealand. It would be Dahma II’s third daughter, Deenaa (x Sameh) who would become influential in many nations.

Firstly, she is the female line of the Qatar National Champion Thaqib Al Nasser (x Ansata Halim Shah) who became a key sire at Saba Arabians in Australia. But Deenaa is also the dam line of Simeon Stud’s muchadmired international champion sire Anaza Bay Shahh (x Shaikh Al Badi). His 3/4 brother Anaza El Nizr (x Ruminaja Ali) was also imported to Australia becoming a well used sire. Of course the Dahma II line from Deenaa becomes globally renowned for Anaza El Nizr’s full brother Anaza El Farid, most famously the grandsire of international champion sire Marwan Al Shaqab.

It was only a matter of time before others managed to pry away from Egypt some choice Nazeer daughters. Among the first to leave Egypt were two mares imported to the US in 1958 by Richard Pritzlaff, the lovely black mare Bint El Bataa (x El Bataa) and the beloved Bint Moniet El Nefous (x Moniet El Nefous), the only daughter of Moniet El Nefous ever to leave Egypt.

Bint El Bataa would go on to distinguish herself in Australia from her son Sankt Georg (x Ansata El Salim). Though he died unexpectedly he nonetheless left 27 get including the incomparable broodmare Simeon Safanad (x 27 Ibn Galal-5), who produced a string of incredibly influential

Serenity Sonbolah A Nazeer granddaughter Simeon Shai His dam is a Bint El Bataa granddaughter

horses internationally including World Champion Simeon Shai (x Raadin Royal Star) and the magnificent black stallion in the UK, Simeon Sadik (x Asfour).

The lovely Nazeer daughter Bint Moniet El Nefous was a treasure who never left her home farm at Rancho San Ignacio and from there she gave Richard Pritzlaff 13 exceptional foals all of which bred on.

Australia was the beneficiary of one of her finest sons, the handsome chestnut Rasmoniet RSI (x Rashad Ibn Nazeer).

Though he was on lease in Australia for only one season, he sired over 30 foals leaving a fine contribution from his dam

Bint Moniet El Nefous. Rasmoniet RSI’s full sister Bint Bint Moniet is dam of renowned sire Moniet El Sharaf (x Ibn Moniet El Nefous) and he is the grandsire of Australian import The Fugitive. Another brother to Rasmoniet RSI is Alcibiades who sired Australian import R.G. Perseus who is also a grandson of Bint El Bataa.

Other Nazeer daughters would soon follow to North American shores, eventually leaving their impact internationally. Ansata Arabian Stud in 1959 brought into the US three Nazeer yearlings, one colt (Ansata Ibn Halima) and two fillies. The two fillies were Ansata Bint Mabrouka, a full sister to Morafic

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Ansata Bint Bukra (Nazeer x Bukra) PC: Jerry Sparagowski

and Bint Zaafarana (x Zaafarana), a full sister to Talal. These two fillies would be part of a group of very influential Nazeer daughters who founded Ansata Arabian Stud. In fact Ansata owned more Nazeer daughters than any other private stud in the world.

Ansata Bint Mabrouka was a magnificent mare of exceptional type, quality and movement and there were high hopes for her. She gave three famous sons and then unfortunately died but those three became world-renowned. They were Ansata Abbas Pasha (x Ansata Ibn Halima), Ansata Ibn Sudan (x Ansata Ibn Halima) and Ansata Shah Zaman (x Morafic). While on lease in Europe Ansata Abbas Pasha sired World Champion Sherif Pascha. Four Ansata Abbas Pasha daughters produced foals in Australia, Al Nahr Janie (x Hannah), Australian National Champion Simeon Savion (x Novina), LF Sumana (x Siralima) and Fayette (x Bint Fay Roufa). Ansata Abbas Pasha’s full brother Ansata Ibn Sudan went on to become the first Straight Egyptian stallion to win the US National Championship and thereafter was an important sire internationally with descent also in Australia and New Zealand.

Among his most important Ansata-bred sons is Ansata Imperial (x Ansata Delilah), champion sire for Imperial Arabians and sire of Australian import Royal Amirah. Another important son is Ansata Abu Sudan (out of the Nazeer daughter Ansata Bint Misuna), sire of Ansata Sudarra who founded a dynasty represented by her son Ansata Hejazi and grandsons Ansata Sinan and Ansata Iemhotep, who sired Rhodium Stud’s Ansata Nile Pharaoh who has four lines to

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Rasmoniet RSI Son of Bint Moniet El Nefous

Ansata Ibn Sudan. He won New Zealand’s title of Reserve National Champion Stallion.

Ansata Bint Mabrouka’s other son Ansata Shah Zaman by Morafic became a supreme sire. His son Ansata El Shahwan (x Ansata Rhodora) was one of the first Straight Egyptian stallions imported to Australia, imported by the Forest Hill Stud of Peter Pond, current WAHO president. Ansata El Shahwan became a very influential and heavily used sire in Australia. Ansata Shah Zaman was also an excellent sire of mares and one of his most famous was his very first foal Ansata Rosetta, globally celebrated for her immortal son Ansata Halim Shah.

Ansata Bint Zaafarana had ten foals all sired

by Ansata Ibn Halima. Her sons emerged most popular and included the US National Top Ten and champion sire Ansata El Nisr as well as Ansata Abu Nazeer, foundation sire for Glorieta ranch in the US and his blood is found throughout the Arab world now via his many excellent daughters. He is an ancestor of the Australian import, the black stallion Murano SPI (Bellagio RCA x Lola Baraki).

Ansata would return to Egypt again to bring back perhaps the most famous and most beloved of Nazeer daughters in the Ansata program, Ansata Bint Bukra (Nazeer x Bukra). Her huge family from her numerous daughters and granddaughters has spread her influence globally in a way that is almost incalculable. She is renowned in Australia as the granddam of the previously mentioned Ansata El Shahwan, imported by Peter Pond and sire of numerous foals. Ansata Bint Bukra is of course also celebrated for her

famous grandson Ansata Halim Shah. His only son born in Qatar, Thaqib Al Nasser (x Imperial Madanah) won Qatar National Champion and subsequently was imported to Australia for Saba Arabians. The Ansata Halim Shah son Neshan (x Noha) bred

by Marbach in Germany was imported to Australia and well used. Ansata Halim Shah is also the grandsire of Ansata Iemhotep, US Egyptian Event Supreme Champion Stallion and international sire of champions who came to Australia. In fact Ansata Iemhotep has two lines to Ansata Bint Bukra. Ansata Halim Shah sired the legendary Ansata Hejazi (two lines to Ansata Bint Bukra), a champion sire widely influential in the US, Kuwait and Qatar, with a son, Laheeb Al Rayyan coming to Australia. Peter Pond imported the Ansata Hejazi daughter Ansata Bint Faressa in utero. Ansata Hejazi is the grandsire of previously mentioned Ansata Nile Pharaoh. A stallion representing a great concentration of Ansata Bint Bukra blood is the Australian import NK Hamoudy (NK Jamal El Dine x Helala) bred by Dr. Hans Nagel. He has seven lines to Ansata Bint Bukra. As one can see the lines to Ansata Bint Bukra quickly add up from her many popular descendants and she is one of the most globally influential Nazeer daughters.

In the 1960s as Ansata was blossoming in the US, another farm became enthralled with Egyptian horses: the world renowned Gleannloch Farms. They imported the Nazeer daughter Bint Nefisaa (Nazeer x Nefisa), a lovely mare whose son El Hilal (x Ansata Ibn Halima) became one of the most heavily used and popular sires in North America, with 639

Photos: Sharyn Ruskey-Fleming

Talika Fantaysia

Talika Fairytale Bint Sidirah

Talika Faniesha

THREE GORGEOUS STRAIGHT EGYPTIAN DAUGHTERS FROM OUR LINEBRED MARES. Talika Faniesha x Talika Nadiesha Talika Fantaysia x Talika Shadari Talika Fairytale Bint Sidirah x Talika Sidirah

By Fayrid (Imp. USA), they are destined to become top show and breeding mares for us.

FOR SALE

Straight Egyptian mares & geldings, suitable for show, performance and endurance.

Sharyn Ruskey-Fleming 73 Storey Road Logan Village Qld 4207 Australia

Ph: (07) 5547 0011 Mob: 0428 320 051 E-mail: talikaarab@bigpond.com talikaarab1@bigpond.com

Talika Neshar Talika Schomann Stud Fee: $1200

foals. His previously mentioned son Hansan (x Hamamaa) was imported to Australia and was a popular sire with well over 100 foals.

Another Nazeer daughter imported by Gleannloch is a full sister in blood to Ansata Bint Mabrouka, bearing the name Bint Mona (x Mouna). Like her illustrious blood sister, Bint Mona developed a global impact through her son TheEgyptianPrince (x Morafic), a full brother in blood to the previously mentioned Ansata Shah Zaman. TheEgyptianPrince is the grandsire of the Australian import Raadin Royal Star, a much admired sire most famous for his World Champion son Simeon Shai and also the great producing mare Simeon Sheba, dam of Australian National Champion mare Simeon Sehavi.

TheEgyptianPrince is also the grandsire of world-renowned Thee Desperado, the most heavily used Straight Egyptian sire in the breed with nearly 1000 foals. Thee Desperado sired the Australian import The Fugitive, who sired Australian National Champion Joda Aly Dahr (from HMT Alidah).

Bint Mona’s blood is found throughout the world as well as Australia with numerous champions associated with her legacy.

But there is one final Nazeer daughter imported by Gleannloch who deserves special mention for her enormous impact not only in Australia and New Zealand, but also within the Arabian breed. That mare is the Nazeer daughter Bint Maisa El Saghira (x Maisa). She was a stunning show mare and as much a centrepiece for Gleannloch as Morafic was. Sadly she died too soon at age 15 but nonetheless she had nine foals, and five of her daughters have carried on the female line. Among most admired of her daughters is the magnificent Dahmah

Saudi El Perseus Owned by Bacchante and JR Arabians PC: Glenys Lilley

Shahwaniah (x Ansata Ibn Halima) who along with some of her produce went to Argentina for Zich Thyssen’s stud.

Dahmah Shahwaniah is also granddam of Australian import Dahshahn, a fine bay stallion that was well used in Australia.

Dahmah Shahwaniah is also an ancestress of the magnificent chestnut stallion KA Damascus, owned by Australian breeders Colleen Jackson and John Cranston.

Bint Maisa El Saghira’s sons also carried her blood worldwide and none is more famous than the grand patriarch himself, Shaikh Al Badi (x Morafic). I will never forget the first time I saw him as a two-year-old at Ranch Ruminaja. He was so noble and so stunning in his body language that I knew this was a horse like no other. He imparted a special nobility and spark for generations that has helped define the Straight Egyptian as the ‘look at me’ horse in the show ring. He would go on to sire nearly 700 offspring. Of course he attracted Australian and New Zealand interest and a number of his sons were imported, including Desert Shaikh (x AK Tarifa) and the previously mentioned Anaza Bay Shahh.

Then there are the famous full brothers by Shaikh Al Badi such as Alidaar, Ruminaja Bahjat, Ruminaja Fayez, all with international influence, and of course the incredible patriarch, Ruminaja Ali. Without a doubt the one Bint Maisa El Saghira grandson with the largest impact globally is Ruminaja Ali. Consider for a moment how many times Bint Maisa El Saghira appears in pedigrees simply because of Ruminaja Ali. He sired such prominent Australian sires as PVA Sonbali (x Imperial Sonboleen) and Anaza El Nizr (x Bint Deenaa). But Ruminaja Ali

also sired Anaza El Nizr’s full brother Anaza El Farid who in turn sired World Champion sire Gazal Al Shaqab, who in turn sired world-renowned international champion sire Marwan Al Shaqab, many of whose sons are also heavily used. Ruminaja Ali also sired The Minstril, sire of 586 foals, who in turn sired Thee Desperado, sire of 995 foals. Ruminaja Ali is also sire of Ali Jamaal who has many sons and a whole patriarchy representing him as well. So the spread of the Nazeer daughter Bint Maisa El Saghira in Arabian pedigrees is almost incalculable.

Just a quick look at a few of this year’s Australian Gold Champion National winners shows that the Nazeer daughters discussed in this article still carry on even in today’s champions.

Gold Champion Stallion Saudi El Perseus: > 2 crosses to Bint Maisa El Saghira > 1 cross to Bint Nefisaa Gold Champion Mare Klassical Presence MI: > 1 cross to Bint Maisa El Saghira Gold Junior Champion Colt Renaissance: > 2 crosses to Bint Maisa El Saghira > 1 cross to Bint Nefisaa > 1 cross to Samia Gold Junior Champion Filly Klassical Devotion MI: > 1 cross to Bint Maisa El Saghira So, while we still celebrate the sons of Nazeer for their impact on the breed, it is well worth knowing that Nazeer’s daughters also are woven throughout many of today’s international champions. ‘Let’s hear it for the girls!’

Klassical Presence MI (Klass x Parada)

Tchaata Arabians Interview with Philippe Ascaso of Tchaata Arabians

The farm is truly spectacular, and owner Philippe Ascaso and his parents enjoy an enviable lifestyle on what can only be described as a slice of paradise...the incredible Arabian horses that reside there are the icing on the cake.

MF Aryan El Thessa (JD Chalice x Thessalya El Jamaal)

In recent years Philippe and his horses have been making a significant impact both in France and around the world, culminating in 2015 with Tchaata Arabians being awarded Best French Breeder of the Year during the World Championships in Paris. Today, head stallion at Tchaata, MF Aryan El Thessa, has progeny on every inhabited continent.

My interview with Philippe begins like most discussions on the subject…at the very beginning.

David Gillett: Have you always been surrounded by horses?

Philippe with MF Aryan El Thessa

F

or many of us who love Arabian horses, a trip to Europe is not a simple affair of visiting famous landmarks and enjoying fabulous, local cuisines. Our ever patient friends and partners know that there will always be one, and preferably more, wonderful Arabian studs to visit with equally wonderful people to meet. One of my favourite farms visited in the last few years has been Tchaata Arabians, in the south west of France. Close to the Atlantic Ocean and not far from the Spanish border, the stud features a 1752 stone house, a very old typical farm house from the region, that the family restored. It is warm, dry and sunny yet also quite green, which is ideal for the horses in residence.

Philippe Ascaso: Yes, it seems I have always lived with horses. When I was six my parents got me a pony for my birthday.

I never got riding lessons, I learned to ride like ‘Indians’ with instinct and riding without saddles. When I reached the age of 21, I started having riding lessons to be more academic, but I would have never done things differently. I got the best experience and knowledge I could have asked for. I learned from my mistakes, and actually the horses taught me most of the things I know. I then got my first horse at the age of 13, a Spanish mare that I kept until her last breath, her name was Tchaata.

I dedicated my farm name to her. Again, my wonderful parents offered her to me for my birthday…but with compromises. I then had to work during vacations to pay her bills! That was the deal…and my dream came true.

David Gillett: When did the Arabian horse come into your life?

Philippe Ascaso: At the age of 13 years old, I met my first Arabian horse, a stallion named Fahr, and that was it, I knew I had met the type

of horse I love. They had pride, nobility, instinct and rare beauty. I always liked horses with a very high natural instinct, the type of horse that you don’t dominate, but the type of horse you have to say ‘please’ to before anything. My aim in life was then to own a purebred Arabian horse. From that age, I started reading books, magazines from all over the globe, and started to know bloodlines.

When I was 17 my parents started to invest in Arabian horses. They purchased a foal Shamilah Padishah (Padron x La Salone/Salon), the first Padron son born in Europe. That was back in 1991, and my aim was to own an Arabian horse, live the dream...I never thought of being influential, successful or anything like this, but wished to live near Arabian horses every day. My dream was just to own and live with my horses, as simple as that.

We purchased a couple more mares however didn’t do much with them – we only bred four horses in ten years.

We started the stud at the same time I was working in the USA for almost four years with Michael Byatt, and then as resident trainer in Belgium at Arabian Sun Horses. I was at that time more focused on learning, and getting as much experience from great individuals from all over the world than breeding.

I have only bred 20 horses in more than 20 years. I don’t breed every year, I only breed when I think of a cross, when I feel it. My point is not to breed to sell as I don’t need to sell to survive. Things could certainly be different if I had to make money from it.

David Gillett: Tell me about Aryan El Thessa.

Philippe Ascaso: I bought Aryan El Thessa when he was two years old. I was in search of a very good foundation mare at that time. But one day as I was at an international horse show, I walked through the barns to look at the competition.

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DP Aryan El Jamaal (MF Aryan El Thessa x Ella Noura (imp USA)) One of the most well known sons of MF Aryan El Thessa in Australia

I stopped in front of a stable where a grey colt was eating his hay, really not interested in me at all! I called him and he came to see me. It might sound stupid, but in his behaviour and his deep look, he had very intense big black eyes full of intelligence, I immediately saw a look I recognised!

Working for Michael Byatt, I had the chance to take care of and train the mare BSA Aliya (Egyptian Event Supreme Champion Mare and All Nations Cup Champion mare), a daughter of Ruminaja Ali. This mare’s history was very special, she had suffered a lot in her past.

We helped each other during our 18 months together, when nobody believed she could change and become a great show horse again. I managed to get her back on track and to achieve great wins in the USA and Europe. Aryan had this same look…I knew I could help him.

I then asked for his pedigree, and wasn’t so surprised to find out he was inbred on Ali Jamaal, a half brother of BSA Aliya!

That was it, he was on my mind constantly.

The next day he won the 2&3 year old colt class...and I then dealt to purchase him.

David Gillett: Aryan is an interesting pedigree, quite different from the mainly Russian mares you had at that time.

Philippe Ascaso: When I studied Aryan’s pedigree, I saw his sire was bred by Mr Doug Dahmen (USA), the result of four

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generations bred by this great American breeder. And when you know his dam is coming from the prestigious Brazilian farm Haras Meia Lua, owned by the very respected breeder Mrs Lenita Perroy...it was just an incredible chance for me to use this genetic treasure! I couldn’t dream of a better heritage, Aryan ancestors are prestigious, some of the best foundation horses of Mrs Perroy and Mr Dahmen including some legendary Egyptian horses in the USA. Aryan El Thessa has truly changed my life.

I owe him so much, not just business-wise but also personally, because he totally changed my vision of the human/horse relationship.

Two years in a row he has been the most used stallion within France, then when his first foals were born, the venture became international.

I was very blessed as he made history in France. He has foals in all continents breeding Arabian horses, and show champions in many countries.

But the living experience was even more important. To my eyes, Aryan incarnates what a stallion should be. He is the Arabian stallion by definition with his intelligence, his powerful instinct, pride and beauty. This stallion forced me to deeply respect him, he would not be an easy horse for everyone, because it takes a lot of humility, a lot of observation, a lot of thinking and trying to understand that horse. You can never think your knowledge is enough. Aryan is a very clever and intelligent

Tchaata D’Aria (MF Aryan El Thessa x ASH Donatella)

horse. Today I can say, and many visitors like yourself obviously see it and do comment on it, that Aryan is a friend. We do respect each other, I absolutely love this horse.

David Gillett: Your farm is unique in that it appears you have bought females for your stallion, rather than keeping mare families. What are your thoughts on this?

Philippe Ascaso: I was a trainer rather than a breeder. I only had three mares and I hardly had time to concentrate on breeding with the show seasons. I had horses in training stabled in France, in Italy and Egypt, and I used to travel all the time. I bought Aryan El Thessa, but at that time I was looking for a mare. Aryan complemented well my Russian mares to add dryness, type and refinement, but I needed other mares, as two of my mares were already old. I then looked all over Europe for mares to breed to Aryan.

I only have six mares including my old Queen, Shamilah Mahatma (Nadir x Padrons Mist/Padron ) who is 24 years old. My new foundation mare is ASH Donatella (WH Justice X Dahma/Warandes Plakat), a famous Champion mare in Europe for her unique movement and attitude. I kept her daughter sired by Aryan El Thessa, Tchaata D’Aria...I have great plans and ideas with this one! She is actually leased to Spain right now. Another young mare is Tchaata Metissa (Tchaata Matisse x La Hyeesha, the ¾ sister of Aryan El Thessa). Then come the two Italian imported mares Saraabi Al

Tiglio (FS Ritz x Shamilah Soraya/Nadir I), a very Russian mare with power and incredible eyes and Asia Al Tiglio (Sanadik El Shaklan x Shamilah Ambra/Warandes Plakat), a genetic treasure. Granddaughter of twice World Champion and All Nations Cup Psyches Amber Gem, she is closely related to the Las Vegas World Cup Champion, World Reserve Champion Alma Al Tiglio.

The Russian stallions Nadir 1 and Warandes Plakat feature repeatedly in the pedigrees of my mares. Warandes Plakat was double World Champion Stallion and was one of the best movers of the breed and a very well balanced stallion, very functional. This incredible movement is still apparent in his granddaughters and their progeny at my farm.

David Gillett: Tell me about some of your favourite achievements over the years.

Philippe Ascaso: There are not so many compared to big farms, but there are a few that still do amaze me, like the day I got told from the French Ministry of Agriculture and French Stud Book that my stallion was the first Purebred Show Arabian Stallion to ever breed mares all over the world…the first in history in the French Stud Book! That day was awesome, and whatever happens he will always be the first French horse that has done it!

A horse that I am also very proud of is Tchaata Matisse, he is a concentration of big champions and has been shown in four different countries. Each time from a junior to a senior contender, he has always been first or second of his category, each time selected for the championships and each time got a medal.

At the 2015 World Championships our homebred Tchaata Iniziato was awarded World Champion Top Ten Yearling colt.

He was then awarded Best French Horse of the Year through the 2015 show season, and Tchaata Arabians was awarded 2015 Best French Breeder.

David Gillett: Much like in Australia, your horses seem to be happy and to live in as natural a state as possible.

Philippe Ascaso: I absolutely want to give a great life to my horses. All my horses are outside in the paddocks all day long and come back inside during the night for security. They live a normal horse life, stallions and mares are mixed in the barn. Aryan El Thessa lives next to the mares inside and

outside, just like a wild stallion. He protects his herd and I respect that. I then have happy horses. No matter what is the value of a horse, he is an animal with his needs.

David Gillett: You have created something really unique and wonderful.

What is next for Tchaata?

Philippe Ascaso: I want to continue to wake up every morning with the same love and motivation to go to work with my horses. I want to keep this passion that nourishes me since I was a kid, no matter what the fashion is, no matter what... I want to continue walking on the path I started to follow, always focused on respecting my animals, doing what they need first of all and not looking just for success.

David Gillett: There are several Aryan El Thessa progeny in Australia – it must make you feel proud?

Philippe Ascaso: It felt good to see people from Australia who had an interest in my stallion, but it felt even better when his first Australian foal crop was born as I saw some typical Aryan foals on the ground. Aryan usually impacts a lot on his foals, you recognise them, and then when the first offspring got ribbons, I was very happy for their breeders and owners.

I have to thank Mr Paul Hedges for that.

He contacted me, proposing me to manage my stallion in Australia, I accepted and he has to take a big part of this successful venture.

Tchaata Matisse (Amar Al Tiglio x Shamilah Mahatma) Sold to Sweden and a Multi International Champion in Europe

I know quite a few breeders in Australia.

I have been friends for many years now with Mr Steve Patrick from Redwood Lodge Arabians, even before he moved to France. I knew the very successful trainer Cameron Hayes, who showed me some Australian farms in the 90s.

I also talked a lot and shared many points of view in the breed with someone I do respect a lot, Mrs Tanya Hawley. At that time we started exchanging with normal mail, then internet helped to communicate. She is a great breeder, I can say she is one of my favourite breeders worldwide. She was a visionary at that time when she started her breeding program with Naadirah. Generation after generation she has created her ideal Arabian horse and that ‘Hawley’ look is still recognisable, functionable horses with amazing Arabian type and beauty. I do respect what she has achieved as a breeder, she is so inspiring. A great woman for the breed.

I wish there would be more inspiring breeders nowadays. For some reason, I can’t explain why, money and winning has ruled over passion. It probably takes too much time to create a dynasty in your barn. It seems breeders today are looking to breed the next champion, and within one generation rather than build a breeding program.

I don’t say it’s bad, but it is not what I look for. I have learned bloodlines from great breeders from the 80s to today, and this experience, this knowledge, is precious.

Trying to follow those people is already a great venture, and even if I don’t achieve great things like them, I am satisfied just to try.

Leading Sires of

Derivative Halter Champions

by David Gillett

Crave FF (No. 1 Leading Sire) (Mash x Bremervale Charmed)

A

ustralia has the highest number of recognised derivative registries in the world, and these horses are held in high esteem by our friends overseas. I wondered if breeding trends were apparent or comparable in the derivative show ring, and so set about analysing the data from the same three shows as the purebreds earlier in this edition.

We have not separated the derivative results into the respective categories as to do so would be both too time consuming, and limiting with our data as some classes are still in their infancy and not as well supported as the others. Some stallions are able to sire winners in various registries, while others are only able to sire winners in their own lane.

The points on the following charts are awarded as follows: Championship, 10 points; Reserve Champion, 7 points; Top Ten or Placing, 2 points.

There are many opinions and much online chatter about our derivatives, most often on the amount of Arabian blood that is used to produce them. This study gives us a clearer understanding on what is being bred and shown successfully at this time.

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DERIVATIVE ARABIANS NSW National Stud Horse Show Name

Sire x Dam

Breed

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Purebred

Ray of Light

Amaki’s Impressionist x Amaki’s Golden Imp

Trendee True Blue

Purity

Champion

Reserve

Top Ten

Points

100%

2

2

4

42

Part Arabian

75.8%

1

2

5

34

Bannerman Blue x Devenward Stylish Girl

ASH

12.5%

2

0

0

20

DBA C Zar

Eden C x LV Markelle

Purebred

100%

1

1

1

19

Trincada Strike

Pinelodge Pride x Simeon Classic

Arabian Pony

63.3%

1

1

0

17

SF Sir Real

Sir Fames HBV x Veronica GA

Purebred

100%

1

1

0

17

Gai El Jullyen

Jullyen El Jamaal x Gai Fantasha

Purebred

100%

1

1

0

17

Belvedere Watch The Paint

VP Watchs De Ja Vu x Belvedere Mega Bucks

Paint

0%

1

1

0

17

Nalla La Scalla

Ibn Amir El Shaklan x Simeon Shifrah

Purebred

100%

0

2

0

14

16 stallions equalled in 10th place on 10 points

Ray of Light (No. 2 Leading Sire) (Amaki’s Impressionist x Amaki’s Golden Imp)

Gai El Jullyen (No. 3 Leading Sire) (Jullyen El Jamaal x Gai Fantasha) PC: Jess Wilson

East Coast Arabian Championships Name

Sire x Dam

Breed

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Purebred

Ray of Light

Amaki’s Impressionist x Amaki’s Golden Imp

Gai El Jullyen

Purity

Champion

Reserve

Top Ten

Points

100%

2

4

1

50

Part Arabian

75.8%

2

1

2

31

Jullyen El Jamaal x Gai Fantasha

Purebred

100%

3

0

0

30

Concherto FF

Burren-dah The Wizard x Aloha Symphony

Anglo

62.5%

3

0

0

30

Trincada Strike

Pinelodge Pride x Simeon Classic

Arabian Pony

63.3%

2

1

0

27

Harmony Hill Anakin

Arundel House Amaani x Harmony Hill Imagine

Arabian Riding Pony

52.6%

1

2

0

24

Nalla La Scalla

Ibn Amir El Shaklan x Simeon Shifrah

Purebred

100%

1

1

0

17

Fidji (DE)

Fittipaldi x Ravenna

Warmblood

6.9%

1

0

1

12

Chelleason Crown Jewel

Gai El Jullyen x Sophia WV

Purebred

100%

1

0

1

12

B’Anembo Kool Colour

Ali Halim x B’Anembo Splash of Colour

Arabian Pony

63.6%

1

0

1

12

Australian National Championships Name

Sire x Dam

Breed

Purity

Champion

Reserve

Top Ten

Points

Ray of Light

Amaki’s Impressionist x Amaki’s Golden Imp

Part Arabian

75.8%

2

2

4

42

Keira Park Cascade

Karlana Say Farewell x Keira Park Amber

Arabian Riding Pony

32.7%

3

1

0

37

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Purebred

100%

1

2

5

34

SF Sir Real

Sir Fames HBV x Veronica GA

Purebred

100%

1

2

0

24

Koora-lyn Cossack

Koora-lyn Little Chief x Koorana Natasha

Australian Stud Pony

22.9%

1

1

1

19

Gai El Jullyen

Jullyen El Jamaal x Gai Fantasha

Purebred

100%

1

1

1

19

Warrawee Versacee

Warrawee Grandee x Warrawee Malika

Anglo Arabian

75%

1

1

0

17

Nalla La Scalla

Ibn Amir El Shaklan x Simeon Shifrah

Purebred

100%

1

0

1

12

21 stallions equalled in 9th place on 10 points, while a further 23 stallions equalled in 10th place with 7 points

Keira Park Cascade (No. 6 Leading Sire) (Karlana Say Farewell x Keira Park Amber)

Trincada Strike (No. 4 Leading Sire) (Pinelodge Pride x Simeon Classic) PC: Framed by Frame

Overall Leading Sires of Derivative Halter Winners Combining the overall points from the three charts, we are proud to present the top ten sires of Halter Champions in Australia for 2016.

Name

Sire x Dam

Breed

Purity

Nationals

East Coast

Australian Championships

Total Points

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Purebred

100%

42

50

34

126

Ray of Light

Amaki’s Impressionist x Amaki’s Golden Imp

Part Arabian

75.8%

34

31

42

107

Gai El Jullyen

Jullyen El Jamaal x Gai Fantasha

Purebred

100%

17

30

19

66

Trincada Strike

Pinelodge Pride x Simeon Classic

Arabian Pony

63.3%

17

27

10

54

SF Sir Real

Sir Fames HBV x Veronica GA

Purebred

100%

17

10

24

51

Keira Park Cascade

Karlana Say Farewell x Keira Park Amber

Arabian Riding Pony

32.7%

10

2

37

49

Nalla La Scalla

Ibn Amir El Shaklan x Simeon Shifrah

Purebred

100%

14

17

12

43

Concherto FF

Burren-dah The Wizard x Aloha Symphony

Anglo

62.5%

0

30

10

40

Belvedere Watch The Paint

VP Watchs De Ja Vu x Belvedere Mega Bucks

Paint

0%

17

10

10

37

Trendee True Blue

Bannerman Blue x Devenward Stylish Girl

ASH

12.5%

20

7

7

34

Belvedere Watch The Paint (No. 9 Leading Sire) (VP Watchs De Ja Vu x Belvedere Mega Bucks)

Like in the purebred study, Future Farms’ mahogany bay stallion Crave FF prevails as the leading sire in the derivative section.

This stallion has produced winning progeny in several different registries over the years including Part Arabian, Arabian Warmblood, Arabian Pony and more.

Second to him and topping the Australian Championships tally board is the cremello Part Arabian stallion Ray of Light. All of Ray of Light’s progeny compete in the Part Arabian division, and all of his winning progeny in this chart bar two, have been bred from purebred mares.

Rounding out the top three is another bay purebred stallion, the imported Gai El Jullyen. An East Coast Champion with many other wins to his credit, it is heartening to see what an impact this horse has had in breeding barns and show rings around the country in both the purebred and derivative competitions.

In spite of online chatter that decrees derivative breeders have no use for or want for purebreds these days, approximately 42% of the sires included in the four charts are purebred

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Arabians, and approximately half of the derivative stallions are over 50% Arabian blood. These, together with the stallions who are either not registered with the AHSA or lower than 50% were in many cases bred to purebred mares to produce the entries from which this data was analysed.

The registries which appear to have the lowest number of Arabian blood in their entries are the Arabian Warmbloods and Arabian Stock Horses, although there are exceptions to the rule with entries with one purebred parent in both divisions. Anglo Arabian breeders appear to value the Arabian blood with our highest performing Anglos having greater than 50% Arabian blood.

Both Arabian Ponies and Arabian Riding Ponies appear to have the widest breadth of Arabian blood in their pedigrees, from very low to very high in equal numbers.

In both registries we have well performed, high percentage individuals such as the Arabian Pony Trincada Strike and the Arabian Riding Pony Harmony Hill Anakin producing winning progeny from derivative and purebred mares.

Part Arabians have the highest amount of Arabian blood, with nearly every entrant having at least 50% Arabian blood and in most cases, more than 75% and onto 90% plus. Obviously most of these have a purebred parent. It will be interesting to see how the newly formed Half Arabian registry settles in with the Part Arabian registry, as for all intents and purposes they appear to be much the same horse. With the Part Arabian class traditionally being one of the best supported and competitive derivative sections, this may lead to smaller classes for both. It will be interesting to see which registry and which classes breeders will support.

Our derivatives are the envy of the world, and rightly so. We are so lucky in Australia that there is an Arabian, or an Arabian derivative that is suitable for just about any purpose. How many of us began our love for the purebred Arabian horse by knowing one of his proud derivatives? Congratulations to the owners and breeders of all the wonderful horses mentioned in this article, and to the owners of their progeny who take the time to show them.

Sierra Lodge Coloured Arabians

Interview with Lee-Ann McClelland

S

ituated approximately an hour west of Brisbane, just off the Warrego Highway is a horse stud that from a distance, may be confused with a field of rainbows. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that this is no trick of the light, but a collection of fine coloured Arabian derivatives owned by Lee-Ann McClelland‌this is Sierra Lodge Coloured Arabians.

Odyssey White Tiger (Odyssey Golden Legend x Odyssey Ritzy Edition)

David Gillett: Lee-Ann, please tell us about your start with horses.

Lee-Ann McClelland: In school I would walk instead of taking the bus, saving the bus fare to buy my own horse.

One afternoon a friend and I came across a paddock of mares and foals and amongst them was a pretty bay colt.

He was by Supreme Champion Appaloosa Domingo Joe out of a Part Arabian mare known as Rainbow. As he was born a solid colour, he was reasonably priced, so after much discussion with my parents this four-month-old colt came to live with me.

My first real show horse was a purebred gelding by Ralvon Pilgrim, Ingleside Shar. I had such big plans for him but he hated the show scene, so I went searching for my next star. I had always admired Ralvon Nazarene and loved Pinosa Park Moriah, so I jumped at the chance to buy her full brother, the liver chestnut partbred colt Pinosa Park Saladdin. He was very successful, although not to his sister’s level, but he was great for me as someone starting out. I also worked with the Partridges of Pinosa Park, learning so much of what was involved with showing at top level.

I would recommend to anyone showing to learn their craft with geldings, like I did. A young gelding can be inexpensive to buy, and more importantly is forgiving on an inexperienced owner. Although it was accidental at the time, looking back these geldings helped formulate my ideals, gave me experience and without as much financial pressure.

David Gillett: In 1989 you bred your first foal and began Sierra Lodge.

Lee-Ann McClelland: I had picked out another name for my stud, but it was

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Sierra Lodge The Illusionist – 90.6% Arabian (Odyssey White Tiger x Roseglen Sadeika)

unavailable so I decided to look at a map of the world and picked out Sierra. It was as easy as that to name the stud…not as easy to fill it with my dream horses.

The program started with a perlino stockhorse stallion, bred to my partbred mares. These foals were tall, well conformed and coloured, yet without the Arabian type I craved. I searched for an Arabian derivative double dilute…and with your help I came across the cremello colt Aratahnes Excalibur. He produced the Arabian type foals I dreamed of and did very well for us with many Supremes. I broke him in and he was an easy going stallion under saddle.

Legends Of Excalibur (Aratahnes Excalibur x Shan-Nelle)

My first mare to have a significant influence on the stud would be Kuhaylan Sareeta (Iraki Zurich x Wellwood Jemah Babe).

Sareeta won many Supremes, including Reserve at the Nationals, and Grand Champion Senior Exhibit in Canberra.

She was an amazing show horse and is still with me today. She has been retired from breeding for many years and we have retained her palomino daughter by Odyssey White Tiger.

David Gillett: Tell us about your stallions.

Sierra Lodge Extraordinaire (RHR Heir Of Marwan x Zaddik Isis)

Lee-Ann McClelland: We have three cremello stallions and one palomino. I am pursuing a higher percentage of Arabian blood in my horses and so purchased the cremello Odyssey White Tiger as a foal.

Being 87.5% registered Arabian blood, Tiger was a major leap forward for our program. Tiger was shown as a yearling for Champion and then other commitments meant he wasn’t brought out again, but his progeny have taken many Supremes.

He has excellent legs and feet, which is a big must in my program and consistently produces the typically wedge shaped face with small tapered nostrils and very tippy ears.

His son Sierra Lodge The Illusionist is my next generation of cremello Arabians being 90.6% Arabian blood. While no horse is perfect, to me he is pretty close. The Illusionist has many Supremes to his name and just had his second amazing foal crop.

I kept a cremello filly from last season and she has already been Supreme Exhibit at her first Coloured Championships. We are retaining a few from this season and are looking forward to showing them.

Evangeline VA (Odyssey White Tiger x Simeon Astarte)

I have one cremello by Aratahnes Excalibur, Legends of Excalibur. Standing an impressive 16hh he is from champion palomino mare Shan-Nelle. He is unshown as he injured himself as a yearling. He has his sire’s sweet nature and is producing lovely foals for visiting mares. I haven’t used him as much as I am increasing my Arabian percentage, but we love seeing his outside foals.

The fourth is the 98.4% Arabian palomino colt, Arabino Alchemy. He offers an outcross, having multiple lines to El Shaklan. He is tall, well put together and his foals are very nice.

David Gillett: Do you concentrate on any particular bloodlines?

Lee-Ann McClelland: No not really, I have found that my stallions cross extremely well with numerous bloodlines and have found leasing some extraordinary purebred mares a great way to go. If pushed, I would say El Shaklan and Bremervale lines have been very successful. A few years ago I won a breeding to Maf-Ue Shaienne so I bought

a Straight Egyptian mare that I thought would complement him. Luckily she did and my lovely Sierra Lodge Shai-Anna was born. She is now a Multi Supreme Champion and was Best Two Year Old at the Brisbane Royal. She and her full sister have been used in my coloured program with great success.

This past season I leased a few lovely purebred mares. Some have been bred for purebreds to hopefully give me new bloodlines into my coloured program.

David Gillett: What have been your greatest successes?

Lee-Ann McClelland: Gosh we have had some times with our horses. We have won many Supremes at Brisbane and Toowoomba Royals, AA class Champions, A class Supremes then Grand Champions at Dilutes and Youngstock shows. But even if they hadn’t been as successful, at the end of the day if you are happy with how your horse behaved and you’re happy with what you’re taking home…that is all that really matters.

Sierra Lodge Special Effects (Sierra Lodge The Illusionist x Bacchante Angelina)

David Gillett: What is next for Sierra Lodge?

Lee-Ann McClelland: I know some people don’t care about the percentage of Arabian blood, and in the show ring it is the judges’ opinion on the day, regardless of the horse’s Arabian percentage, however my set goal is to further increase the Arabian percentage and type in my coloured derivatives.

I have incorporated modern show horses RHR Heir of Marwan and the Ajman Moniscione son Xanaphon into my breeding program, and adore one of my leased mares Bacchante Angelina so am looking forward to what these horses produce.

I love showing my horses and having them look their best whatever the results in the ring. But the best part is taking photos of them after the classes are finished, the beautiful scenery of some of the showgrounds make for stunning photos and even more so if they were lucky enough to be wearing a beautiful sash or garland.

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IS STALLION OWNERSHIP

FOR YOU? WN Majestic Sumara looking out from his strong, safe stall PC: Sharon Meyers

by Cindy Reich

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he model for a perfect stud farm is a good group of broodmares, a safe and functional facility and a great stallion to stand at stud.

Right? Not necessarily. In this modern age of horse breeding, does it really make sense to have your own stallion?

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of stallion ownership and decide.

Not everyone should have a stallion.

This goes beyond the assumption that many breeding farms keep their own stallion. Not everyone should own a stallion for a variety of reasons.

Housing Stallions Let’s start with housing. Unless your stallion runs out with the mares, which is not common any more, he will have to be kept in a separate, stallion-safe enclosure.

So whether it is a stall or a paddock or both, it needs to be high enough and sturdy enough that the stallion cannot push his way out. And believe me, if there are mares in heat, he will be testing his physical boundaries constantly. Ideally, a stallion fence should be high enough that he cannot rest his chest against the rail and have his neck and head over the fence.

This just encourages him to push against the fence, or in a worst case scenario, try to climb or jump out. If the fence is high enough so that he can only get his head over the top, he will realise that it is not feasible to try to jump.

If your fence is not high, a reliable electric wire or tape will keep the stallion off the fence. However, notice the word ‘reliable’. If the wire is not hot all the time, the stallion will test it and if he finds it off, will make the best of the opportunity. The fencing material should be sound and sturdy. Board fencing, vinyl, pipe fencing or mesh are all good materials for fencing. If in a stall, it should be solid and not have any gaps or holes that he can get caught in. Pay particular attention to the top of the stall walls and any rafters.

Can the stallion get hung up in a rafter if

Simeon Shifran (Asfour x Simeon Shavit) pictured at Simeon Stud Good fencing is an absolute requirement for stallion management

he stands on his hind legs? You may think this is excessive or overkill, but just a few months ago, we had a stallion that was at a boarding facility stand on his hind legs and get his neck wedged into the ‘vee’ of the roof rafter and the top of the stall. He hung himself before anyone could get him down.

Can the stallion see other horses from his paddock? His stall? Can he see mares?

Hear them? Smell them? Horses are herd animals. Isolation is very stressful for horses, yet we isolate stallions where they can’t see or be around other horses. That is not fair.

Ideally the stallion should be able to see other horses from his enclosure. A ‘buddy’ gelding stalled or put in the paddock next to him is much better for the stallion’s mental health. Plus, it mimics being in a mini ‘bachelor’ herd situation. Stallions that are shut away and isolated from all other horses also can develop behaviour problems.

Why all of this care for having a stallion?

Because a stallion is hard-wired to do one thing. Breed mares. No matter how friendly, how sweet, whether you have raised him from a foal or just bought him. That is his number one priority. Everything else is second. This is how Mother Nature made them – so that they would reproduce. We need to respect that. In nature, stallions

would be running with mares or in bachelor groups. However, in our modern world, we have to keep them in a stall or a paddock.

This causes a number of concerns. One is energy. A stallion normally expends a great deal of energy (in nature) driving off other stallions, protecting the herd and breeding mares. Lock him in a stall or small paddock and what happens to all that energy? It can manifest in behaviour disorders, or a stallion that bites or savages himself or in destructing his surroundings.

Therefore, if you do keep a stallion, exercise is paramount. Ride, drive or work the horse in some way so that he has a way to expend excess energy. Many of the large Thoroughbred farms ride their stallions daily – not only to keep them fit and burn energy, but to subliminally assert the human’s dominance every day as well. Which brings us to the topic of handling stallions.

Handling Stallions Not everyone should have a stallion, because most people should not handle stallions.

Most people should not handle stallions because when they do, they treat the stallion unfairly. Stallions are often expected to act like a machine – act like a breeding stallion today with a mare, but by golly don’t you dare act like a breeding stallion at the show tomorrow!!! Is it any wonder stallions get

confused? If you are going to have a stallion, you have a responsibility to make it very clear to the stallion when breeding behaviour is acceptable and when it is not. But be consistent and be fair. Doing the breeding in the same arena where the stallion is worked is not fair. How is he to know when he goes to the arena if he is supposed to be ‘on’ or ‘off’. Using different tack for breeding is important, but if you are going to have a breeding stallion, you need to have a separate area for the breeding to take place.

If you are doing artificial insemination (A.I.), you will need to have a breeding shed, ideally a phantom mare (dummy) and a small laboratory for processing semen.

That requires an outlay for facilities, equipment and training. Additional personnel will likely be required as well.

Who will handle the stallion for breeding (ideally not the trainer who handles for shows)? Who will do the collecting of semen? Processing of semen? If you choose to stand a stallion and do A.I. and don’t want to have your own breeding laboratory, then you will have to take your stallion to a specialist facility each time you need him to be collected. You will have to weigh the risks of transportation, disease exposure and expense to decide which method is best suited to your operation.

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Other common handler errors are being overly harsh and aggressive with a stallion.

Yes, they need to be respectful – always – and obedient. But people that are afraid of stallions tend to punish them for any perceived or real indiscretion. As in ‘don’t you dare move an inch, until I tell you, you SOB!!!’

The handler is nervous and wants to control every action of the stallion. This is unfair, and ultimately impossible. The more you try to micro-manage every move a stallion makes, the likelihood increases that he will just blow up in frustration. And it won’t be pretty.

The flip side to that type of handling is the ‘my stallion loves me and would never hurt me’ handler. This type of handler believes they have a special bond with their stallion and that they (the handler) can do things with their stallion that no one else can.

They allow the stallion to be the boss in the situation and ultimately the stallion ends up disrespectful and pushy towards

humans and can become dangerous. Let me tell you a little secret. Your stallion may tolerate you, your stallion may like you – but your stallion does not love you – especially

Ultimately the main reason people keep stallions is to use them in their breeding program

if there is a mare in estrus within a ten mile radius. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a good relationship with a stallion.

I have had many! But it is based on mutual respect and is more of a partnership. But 60-50 in favour of the human! People who

A stallion with a tractable nature and a bond with his owner is a stallion to enjoy PC: Framed by Frame

are anxious, nervous or scared of stallions should not handle them. People who want to dominate them and show them ‘who’s boss’ should not handle them.

Using Stallions in your Breeding Program Ultimately the main reason people keep stallions is to use them in their breeding program. The stallion has traits that the breeder wants to incorporate into the program and using their own stallion is easier and cheaper than using outside stallions. Maybe yes, maybe no.

If you use your own stallion, you need to breed a rather large number of foals from different mares to find out your stallion’s strengths and weaknesses. Producing just a few foals will not give you the complete picture. ‘No problem’, is the answer. ‘I will just breed him to a group of outside mares and have my answer.’ Furthermore, as the thought process plays out, visions of multiple stud fees rolling in just sweetens the deal. Reality check. Breeding outside mares involves having facilities for the mares if they are going to stay at your farm.

You will be on very good terms with your vet who will be coming out every day to check the mare when in estrus.

You will need to have a contract that spells out all the costs – vet, board, collections, breedings, etc. What happens if the mare does not get in foal? What happens if she aborts? Do you provide a ‘live-foal’ guarantee? Should the mare be cultured? If she is being live covered, what precautions are you taking to ensure both the stallion’s and mare’s safety?

So, without having a fairly large number of foals on the ground and grown to the age of two to three years, you don’t really know how your stallion produces.

Not having a Stallion If you don’t have a stallion, you immediately have a much happier barn. No squealing, kicking, urinating and bouncing off the walls – and the horses behave much better as well! You don’t have to have custom or stallion-proof facilities.

Genetically, you can have your pick of stallions from around the world, if you are willing to use frozen semen or chilled semen. You can research many different stallions and any offspring online (though I recommend looking at the stallion in person and offspring in person or video

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Whitsunday Akram and Peter Riordan

at very least) and determine whether the stallion is passing on traits that you require. With your own stallion this will take at least five years. By utilising outside stallions, you can make more genetic progress in a much shorter period of time.

You are not limited to your own stallion, or local stallions. Not that there is anything wrong with local or owned stallions. Again, the genetic diversity may be more limited in a geographic region as vast as Australia.

Bringing in outside genetics may help diversify a breeding program. Or limit it.

programs limits bloodlines to what has historically been bred in Australia. It does, however, keep the overuse of a few very popular stallions from abroad from flooding the pedigrees of horses in Australia as well.

There are good arguments both for and against the need to own your own stallion.

If you can provide him with a happy and healthy life, both physically and mentally, and you have the skill set to handle a stallion, then you are a good candidate. If not, you might want to reconsider and look at the wide range of stallions available for breeding – and see where they might fit into your program without having to own one!!!!

Aloha Thee Desperado A happy stallion is a stallion with a job

For very popular stallions, having access to them worldwide via frozen or shipped semen can actually limit a gene pool. If everyone breeds to the same stallion for multiple generations, then we have a gene pool that is flooded with the same bloodlines. That is actually the case right now in the Arabian industry in North and South America for sure. Because of the distances involved and the regulations and cost associated with using imported semen in Australia, there are not as many stallions used repeatedly as is seen in the US, South America and to some extent, Europe. However, it works both ways. Not being able to access a wide range of stallions to diversify breeding

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Chelleason Arabians International Interview with Michelle Thomas Photography by Paul Clark

Chelleason Silk Road competing at Scottsdale

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helleason Arabians International was borne from a natural continuum of the successful breeding and showing farm Chelleason Arabians, based in Peak Crossing in Australia.

For many years Michelle Thomas, owner and founder of Chelleason Arabians has had the good fortune to have travelled the world over to attend the most prestigious shows and observe breeding programs.

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From her time in countries like the USA, England, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and parts of Europe and the Middle East, Michelle had seen first hand many of the famous and influential stallions and mares of our time. These experiences have been a great advantage in the selection of breeding stock that she has imported to Australia to shape Chelleason Arabians. Mares like the US import Sophia WV (Falcon BHF x Kharawind), who has become the cornerstone of all that is done at Chelleason,

has produced the twice Australian National Champion Chelleason Crown Jewel (by Gai El Jullyen), and the stunning and highly successful Chelleason Sophia’s Dream (by Saudi El Perseus) to name just two.

With the help of Michelle’s wonderful partner Peter Hepburn Brown, Chelleason Arabians International was quietly borne to fulfil her lifelong dream. ‘It is also somewhat of a natural progression for Chelleason in establishing a breeding

Caption required

Chelleason Silk Road

program in the Northern Hemisphere,’ says Michelle. ‘The USA was chosen to base this endeavour for its easy access to the top international stallions, shows and marketing opportunities.’

Michelle was confident in the consistent outstanding quality that Sophia WV has produced, and so the search was on to find mares in the USA that could emulate her breeding success. ‘Being aware of the power of the Bey Shah broodmares crossing so well on so many different pedigrees, especially the grey females like Sophia WV, I studied the USA database to see if Sophia WV had any full sisters. Sadly she does not, but her breeder Debbie Nash had bred some close relatives, including two mares that were ¾ sisters to Sophia WV’. Through the magic of Google and the internet, these mares were found and subsequently purchased for the start of Chelleason Arabians International approximately three years ago.

‘As anyone will tell you horse breeding is a costly, time consuming and frustrating pursuit. Trying to do it from the other side of the world even more so!’ exclaims Michelle. ‘It’s great for increasing your frequent flyer points and decreasing your bank account!’ Currently the horses are scattered in different states around the USA which is not proving to be either economical or easily managed, however plans are in motion to get them all centralised.

‘Having access to all the top stallions at greater ease to a breeder is like being a kid in a lolly shop. There are so many outstanding stallions to match up with the mares, and that makes viewing the resulting foals, sending them off to trainers

to show, and being there to see them compete in some of the world’s biggest and prestigious shows is so exhilarating and well worth all the costs and frustrations.’

Earlier this year Michelle’s first truly US homebred filly Chelleason Silk Road competed at Scottsdale All Arabian Show, otherwise known as the biggest all Arabian show in the world! Silk is sired by the current World Champion Stallion Hariry Al Shaqab and out of a ¾ sister to Sophia WV – WV Shannon Bey who is a bay daughter of Falcon BHF. ‘Our goals in such deep level of competition were for strong placings. Silk delighted us placing 3rd in the International Yearling Fillies. The winner of this class went on

Having a breeding program on the other side of the world is not easy and it’s not cheap, it’s full of frustrations but life is too short not to pursue a dream. to win Silver Champion.’ A stunning grey, Chelleason Silk Road was also 5th in the Classic Yearling Fillies against 18 fillies.

‘The winner of this class was named Junior Champion Filly, defeating the current Bronze World Champion who is absolutely sensational. It still blows my mind and gives you an understanding of the quality of the fillies out there…it was amazing.’

Chelleason Silk Road is the product of breeding a USA National, Las Vegas, Scottsdale and World Champion Stallion Hariry Al Shaqab, to a daughter of US National Champion Stallion Falcon BHF, sire of several US National Champions and well known broodmare sire. Whilst breeding highly credentialled horses together never guarantees success, it does help to have first hand knowledge and an eye for what you are looking for. Michelle has seen the first three generations of her filly’s sire line in the flesh, from Hariry Al Shaqab through to Marwan Al Shaqab and Gazal Al Shaqab. In addition to this, Michelle was lucky enough to see several horses in Hariry Al Shaqab’s dam line including both parents of his mother’s sire Dakar Al Jamaal, Ali Jamaal and Sonoma Lady in Brazil, while also seeing Dakar Al Jamaal himself. On the other side of the dam line is a horse Michelle will never forget, Echo Magnificoo. These real life experiences helped form an opinion of what worked for Michelle, for what was behind the pedigree, rather than making judgments based on glossy, artistic photography and media hype.

‘Hariry Al Shaqab himself was chosen for his own sheer excellence as an individual, as well as his harmonious pedigree with the bay Falcon BHF daughter WV Shannon Bey. I like this mare in that she reflects many of the influential horses in her pedigree such as King Maker, Bey Shah, Talisman Bey and Khemosabi. If one studies the pedigrees of most of the modern day, non-Straight show programs, most will carry at least a line to Bey Shah. Without Bey Shah there would be no Marwan, no Versace. This list of champions with Bey Shah in their pedigree is infinite.

‘In Silk we see a lot of her heritage from both sides. We have been delighted with her extreme face, big, dark, soulful eyes, deeply dished with great refinement that tapers to a tiny muzzle. She has the beautiful Marwan shaped neck and poll, with the very laid back shoulder from Gazal, a full, strong body from Bey Shah topped with this trademark snort, tail carriage and attitude.’

When asked if Michelle had any advice for Australians wanting to keep horses overseas she replies, ‘Having a breeding program on the other side of the world is not easy and it’s not cheap, it’s full of frustrations but life is too short not to pursue a dream. Our USA mares are all currently in foal for 2016 and who knows where our future and our dreams may take us!’

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Arabian Racing in Australia

NARA’s Role Photography by Sharon Meyers

Warrawee Naaziq (bay), Turingal Vassili and Coolinda Park Winston fight to the finish at Morphettville, South Australia

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he sport of Arabian racing has been growing at a steady rate the world over. Around the globe, Arabians now appear at such famous tracks as Meydan in the UAE, Chantilly and Longchamp in France, Ascot and Newmarket in the UK, Churchill Downs and Santa Anita in the USA and the Curragh in Ireland. Closer to home Caulfield, Moonee Valley, Sandown and the Gold Coast have all played host to the original racehorse.

The prize money overseas has topped the million dollar mark and Arabians now open the program for such prestigious race meetings as the Dubai World Cup where the Kahayla Classic for purebred Arabians reminds one of the origins of the Thoroughbred, as does the Qatar Arabian World Cup which precedes the famous Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe meeting.

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Warrawee Naaziq receives a kiss from jockey Cindy Klinkenberg while his owner and trainer Kim Noble gives him a well-deserved cuddle

In Australia we have yet to reach such dizzying heights with our Arabians, although seeing them run at Moonee Valley before Black Caviar’s 17th career win in front of a record crowd was just as exciting!

NARA needs more horses in work to fill the race fields and there has never been a better time to become involved. There is nothing as thrilling as watching Arabians doing what they love best, galloping!

However, over the past three years, Arabian racing has shown strong development in Australia. NARA has raised the awareness and profile of racing, and as a result there have been many interested sectors of the racing community starting to become involved.

As the show scene doesn’t appeal to everyone, and not everyone rides these days, the founders of NARA felt that, as in those great Arabian breeding nations of Russia and Poland, the racetrack would be a great testing ground of stamina and soundness for breeders. Besides, it’s fun!

NARA is keen to see participants consider forming a syndicate to cover training costs which will in turn provide a ready made crowd of family and friends to swell race day attendance numbers. For anyone contemplating racing their horse there is a wealth of information available and plenty of experienced people ready to help.

To many, the progress of Arabian racing in this country may appear frustratingly slow. However, NARA has been very particular about establishing a stringent set of rules, regulations and licensing and has adopted a philosophy of ‘start as you mean to go on’. NARA is the

Justice For All MI

recognised Australian Arabian Racing Authority and a member country of the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR).

There have been many setbacks over the years but recent partnerships are now bearing fruit with the result that the Arabian athlete is garnering a new found respect from the general horse community once more. The Thoroughbred racing fraternity have been increasingly willing to accept the original racehorse, progenitor of their own racehorses, and as a result many mutually beneficial partnerships are now coming to fruition.

In Queensland, NARA has progressed strongly over the past few years. From January to December 2013 NARA hosted races with $64,000 prizemoney and in 2014 this was increased to 13 races with $167,310 prizemoney. In total, from January 2012 until December 2014 there have been 28 races with $419,730 prizemoney. This has been a strong growth over a three year period.

Unfortunately, due to the Queensland Government’s dismissal of the Queensland Racing Board, Arabian racing has been on hold for over 12 months, but it is hoped that the coming season will see NARA races return once more.

This year has seen South Australia venture into Arabian racing with a most successful day of Thoroughbred and Arabian races at the beautiful Morphettville track sponsored by one of NARA’S greatest supporters, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his Shadwell Stud Australasia.

This was run by NARA in partnership with Dubai International Arabian Races

(DIAR) and the South Australian Jockey Club. The runners travelled from interstate to contest the UAE Arabian Plate and the UAE Arabian Stallions Plate with a total prizemoney of $50,000. With seminars and lead up races being organised it is hoped that the fields will be full of South Australian Arabians before too long.

Australia has recently become a member country of the Heritage Arabian Racing Club (HARC) which has led to a partnership with His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. So far NARA has run three HARC races, seminars and training days under the HARC banner.

HARC is an international club formed to encourage breeders to conserve the older racing bloodlines as distinct from the predominantly French lines that have taken over the racetracks in recent years.

There is nothing as thrilling as watching Arabians doing what they love best, galloping!

As Australia’s Arabians are mostly of HARC bloodlines we already have a good pool of these horses. For more information on HARC please go to their Facebook site.

Being part of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival has been an extremely rewarding experience for NARA. Being invited to attend the Arabian Flat Racing Conferences

Aloha Thee Desperado heading to the barriers at Morphettville Racecourse

and the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Awards has been a wonderful way to gain knowledge and network with like minded people from around the world.

Australia has been honoured to send professional, amateur and apprentice jockeys overseas to compete in the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak race series over the last few years and we are proud that there have been several winners amongst them. Likewise for the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Awards with Australians being honoured with three Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award, Maureen Milburn, Photographer of the Year, Nadine Frampton and most recently Journalist of the Year, Victoria Shaw.

Racing Victoria Ltd (RVL) and NARA have successfully joined forces and now the internationally renowned HH Sheikha Fatima Ladies World Championship race series has become a fixture at the famous Caulfield racecourse on Australia Day and continues to attract quality fields.

NARA foresees a very exciting season ahead with more seminars, hands on training days, barrier trials and race series in the pipeline.

This, coupled with the very successful NARA Futurity and the annual HARC/NARA Festival should give would be participants something to aim towards. The future is indeed bright for the purebred Arabian racehorse in Australia. Come and join us and experience the thrill of Arabian racing!

For more information please visit www.naraaustralia.com

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ADVERTISERS INDEX

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Al Atiq Arabians....................................................................................................141

Kelaray Stud..............................................................................................................81

Al Sahrae Arabians....................................................................56–61; 66–67

Kelkette Park Arabian Stud...........................................................................119

Al Salsabeel Stud................................................................................................131

Krystal Creek Arabians....................................................................................161

Al Shaqab...............................................................................................................8–9

Lavender Park Arabians...................................................................................87

Albadeia Stud........................................................................................................145

Marbling Arabians..............................................................................................107

Alexandrina Farm....................................................................................................5

Marian Duncan – Equine Artist.................................................................157

Almazaan Stud......................................................................................................117

Mulawa Arabians...........................................................................................17–32

Aloha Arabians......................................................................................................171

Myth Haven Arabian Farm................................................................................7

Alphalea Arabians..............................................................................................105

Oso Arabians...........................................................................................................85

Arabian Dreams....................................................................................................151

Peter Williams Riding Apparel............................................................. 70–71

Armstrong Arabians.................................................................................. 60–61

Quartz Hill Farm.....................................................................................................41

Asab Arabians and Stonevale Performance...................................IBC

Ramadan Arabians.............................................................................................. 77

Ashwood Performance Horses...................................................................64

Ranvet..........................................................................................................................72

Bacchante Arabians.....................................................................................10–11

Reid River Arabians...........................................................................................133

Bluedawn Egyptian Arabians.....................................................................125

Remarni Park.........................................................................................................137

Bremervale Arabians...................................................................................IFC–1

Saharri Park Arabians..................................................................................... 103

Caballo Árabe.......................................................................................................109

Salam Arabians....................................................................................................123

Cherox Arabians....................................................................................................73

Samphire Park Stud............................................................................................99

Dara Park Arabian Stud..................................................................................121

September Park........................................................................................... 68–69

Diamond Road Stud.........................................................................................135

Shemali Arabian Stud......................................................................................157

Eskdale Arabians..................................................................................................95

Sheridan Park........................................................................................................173

Fernleigh Stud........................................................................................................37

Simeon Stud.......................................................................................................... BC

Foxridge Farm.........................................................................................................35

Slipstream Arabians.......................................................................................... 147

Future Farms Arabians............................................................................ 49–72

South Serenity Arabians................................................................................187

Gerzanne Arabian Stud..................................................................................128

Talika Arabian Stud............................................................................................181

Glen Eirinn Arabians....................................................................................14–15

The Enayat Partnership...................................................................................113

Gleniph Arabians..................................................................................................45

The Palms Arabians..........................................................................................140

Hawley Arabians...................................................................................................97

Windella......................................................................................................................93

Hideaway Farm Arabians.............................................................................2–3

Wisteria Park Stud.............................................................................................165

Holly Farm...............................................................................................................129

Wyngura Arabians.............................................................................................107

IRT Insurance & Transport..............................................................................16

Zuhra Arabians.......................................................................................................89

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

Asab Arabians and Stonevale Performance

Young stock and proven horses available for sale AT STUD: Lindall Centurion .. Producing athletic ability, conformation and temperament. LFS/CA/SCID Clear. Standing to a limited number of mares.

Asab Arabians and Stonevale Performance Mark, Kathy and Jessica Saggers 937 Glamorgan Vale Road, Glamorgan Vale QLD 4306 0413 054 182

e: kath y@ w arrego .co m.au

www.asabarabians.com.au

Photos: Michael Vink, Sharon Meyers, Narelle Wockner, Sue Crockett, Agile Photography, Jan Kan, Sally Thompson, Leanne Owens and Kathy Saggers

Breeding Arabians for the love of the horse